Dave Dexter Jr.; Jazz Critic, Record Producer

Dave Dexter Jr., 74, jazz critic and record producer. As a young executive for Capitol Records in the 1940s, Dexter discovered and promoted such jazz singers as Nellie Lutcher. Later he was responsible for signing the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole with Capitol Records. In 1964, he published a history of the musical art form from its New Orleans beginnings in the 1890s to modern jazz, titled “The Jazz Story: From the ‘90s to the ‘60s.” He wrote two other books, “Jazz Cavalcade” and a personal memoir titled “Playback.” In Sherman Oaks on April 19 of a heart attack.