Getting every note right

Elia Powers

A multitude of miniature plastic figures holding saxophones line the

shelves of John Lindfors’ home in Costa Mesa. And if that doesn’t

clue you in to his profession, the rows of big band photographs and

jazz records certainly do the job.

He mastered the drums by age 12 and played nearly every instrument

in the brass family.

But Lindfors was best known as the teacher who liked to stress

practice and the man who practiced tough love.

“If you played a wrong note, he’d stop and look at you with a

funny grin, and you would just shut up,” said Don Harris, one of

Lindfors’ students. “There were never ever disciplinary problems with

him.”

A resident of Costa Mesa for nearly 20 years, Lindfors died Dec.

31 of a heart attack. He was 73.

Born in Springfield, Mass., Lindfors moved to Glendale at the age

of 11. A self-taught musician, he played with local jazz bands while

living in the San Gabriel Valley.

His trombone experience earned him a scholarship to Occidental

College, where he met his wife, Mary Lee Lindfors. She was the

school’s baton twirler, and he starred in the marching band.

The two were married in 1953, and Lindfors began his job as roving

band director at local schools. And he never stopped playing music

for fun.

“He was gone almost every weekend playing in his big band,” Mary

Lee Lindfors said. “Music was almost always going in the house.”

Trained in big band, Lindfors formed a variety of ensembles

throughout the years. He traveled with his wife. He traveled on tour

with fellow musicians. And he took his students on trips around the

country, including a performance at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962.

The Lindfors moved to Corona del Mar in 1971, and John was hired

full time by Ensign Intermediate School as the instrumental music

teacher.

While living in Orange County, he formed “The Newport Big Band,”

“The American Stage Band” and the “Newport Jazz Ensemble.”

He was a co-owner of Yates Music in Fashion Island and American

Music in Costa Mesa.

Harris, a student of Lindfors’ from fourth grade through high

school, remembers his teacher as “intense.”

“We had the most precise marching band,” said Harris, who now

lives in Salt Lake City. “He had a fabulous ear. He could hear your

mistake among everyone else.”

And Lindfors wasn’t averse to calling a student out for something

other than music. Harris remembers Lindfors walking up to him at band

practice and telling him he needed to shave.

“He had a dry sense of humor,” said Ted Stelle, who took Lindfors’

math class at Ensign. “At 13, it didn’t sink in right away. But later

in life, I appreciate it more.”

Lindfors retired in 1992 after teaching at Ensign for 20 years.

He continued to arrange music and play the saxophone in swing

bands after retirement. One of his favorite groups he played in was

Big Band Commotion.

In his final group, Dr. Toot, a three-man jazz combo, Lindfors

wrote the music and played saxophone.

“Music was his life,” Mary Lee Lindfors said.