Marty Roberts, one half of loungey jazz duo Marty & Elayne who have been the house band at iconic Los Angeles cocktail lounge The Dresden since 1981, has died. The news came via his his Daughter Hali who wrote: "We are heartbroken, the greatest man alive has gone on to Heaven. Marty passed peacefully on Thursday the 13th, 2022. My mom and I are devastated by his loss and there is nobody that could ever take his place. He had a joke and a smile (smiling is free, he would say!) for everyone he met and was the kindest, most self sacrificing man in the world. We will miss him more than words can express."
Both Marty and Elayne were born in NYC but met in L.A. in the '70s and were together ever since, and their sets at The Dresden, a mix of jazz standards and swinging takes on pop hits, made them the stuff of legend long before Jon Favreau used them in Swingers. They also have a cameo in Tom Petty's "Yer So Bad" video and cameo'd in an episode of Mr. Show.