Ken Walker, Debra Faber and Janelle Orsborn remembered fondly

To Dazzle Denver, bassist Ken Walker was family.

For more than two decades — we’re talking 250 consecutive months of final Fridays — Walker and his sextet commanded the Dazzle stage. He performed at Dazzle last August for KUVO Radio’s 40th anniversary celebration, and again in December for a retirement party honoring KUVO’s Carlos Lando and Arturo Gomez.

Walker died on Feb. 12 at age 69.

Denver musician Paul Musso’s favorite memory? “I believe he had a side business around the holidays making delicious sweet potato pies,” he said. “One year, I was obsessing over how to bake the perfect one, and kept peppering Kenny with questions.

“Two weeks later, the day before Thanksgiving, he shows up to my Mead St. gig and hands me a pie. Just pure kindness. I know he went out of his way.

“Such a beautiful and generous soul.”

“Ken Walker was raised in Arkansas – but he truly lived in Denver – and he lived bigger than life,” KUVO said in a statement.

Beyond his technical mastery, Walker was known for his “functional to freer” playing style and his unwavering commitment to the Mile High City’s jazz community through venues like Dazzle and Nocturne. He was also a member of the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame.

“Ken Walker was more than just a performer; he was a dear friend to the club, to me, and to many others who came to appreciate his bass-playing and words,” said Dazzle co-owner Donald Rossa. “Ken was a man of immense gratitude, always expressing his appreciation through his music.

“My lasting image of Ken is that of a giant with a beaming smile and his best friend joyously riding on his back.”

Walker’s original sextet included Paul Romaine, Al Hood, Peter Sommer, Jeff Jenkins and Dave Corbus. While the lineup shifted over the years, “Ken’s commitment to the Colorado jazz community never wavered,” Rossa said.

Dazzle will celebrate Walker on (what else) the final Friday of February (the 27th) with the 11 a.m. lunch series led by Keith Oxman and former Walker students Aidan Nowell, Eli Acosta and Stevie Pearlman (bring your instruments; it will be a community jam session). At 6:30, the Ken Walker Sextet will perform with guest artists.

Donations to a Walker student scholarship through the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts can be made to coloradogives.org.

Debra Faber, costume designer

Debra Faber, the longtime resident costume designer at The Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Johnstown, has died at age 62.

“She had a way of making every single person look and feel beautiful, no matter their size,” said actor Samantha Jo Staggs.

“She saw beauty and light in every person she met. When I told Deb I knew it was hard to find clothes to fit me, she grabbed my hands and looked me in the eye and said, ‘You are beautiful just the way you are. I have dozens of costumes that will fit you.’”

Faber was originally from Myrtle Beach, S.C., and made her Colorado home in Bellvue, northwest of Fort Collins. Among her notable costume-design credits were “Cats,” “White Christmas,” “Bright Star” and “Steel Magnolias” for Candlelight. She was long the face of the Northglenn Youth Theatre and supported various area high schools.

“Deb was just super-generous with anyone who needed help with costumes – or in life,” said The Candlelight’s Jalyn Webb.

Faber is survived by husband, Neil, children Travis Heryla, Aubrey Putnam and LaRee Faber. Neil Faber is encouraging donations to the Denver Actors Fund, or P.O. Box 11182, Denver 80212 or denveractorsfund.org.

Janelle Orsborn, actor

Janelle Orsborn, a local actor and Miss Colorado’s Teen 2009, has died of Stage 4 colon cancer. She was 34. Friends describe her as “a breathwork facilitator, trauma-informed healer and author focused on guiding others toward authentic, heart-centered living” She was part of a close-knit family, with her sister, Natalie, also a former Miss Colorado’s Teen.

As an actor she appeared in two productions of “Scrooge” at Candlelight Dinner Playhouse and one of “Bye Bye Birdie.”