Popular suburban bandleader Vito Buffalo dies at 83

Popular bandleader Vito Buffalo, whose namesake orchestra played in everything from summer festivals to weddings and ballroom dance competitions across the suburbs, has died.

Buffalo and his orchestra headlined the Founder's Day celebration in Algonquin for nearly 40 years. They also played venues in Crystal Lake, Schaumburg, Wheeling, Itasca and at Pheasant Run in St. Charles, to name a few.

Buffalo not only directed the band, he sang and played lead trumpet. The Lake in the Hills resident passed away June 21 after a long illness. He was 83.

John Ghrist served as emcee for many of the venues where Buffalo played. He described the bandleader as an "all-around entertainer," especially when he belted out Louis Armstrong's classic, "What a Wonderful World," which he did at nearly every concert.

"He'd pull out a handkerchief like Satchmo," Ghrist says, "and it was such an accurate representation. When he sang you know that he felt the same way that Louie did about life and people."

Ghrist, of West Dundee, recalls Buffalo's orchestra drawing a crowd of more than 2,000 people for a performance in the Schaumburg Township District Library summer concert series.

"His yearly appearance at the Crystal Lake band shell was also always well-attended," Ghrist adds. "The boats would pull into the dock and passengers would listen and honk their horns in approval."

Buffalo's orchestra also played local clubs, including the former Blue Moon in Elgin and the Hob Nob in Crystal Lake, Ghrist said. His shows were so successful, Buffalo recorded an album at each venue.

"At the old Blue Moon in Elgin, Vito's band actually put out a 12-inch, LP vinyl record," Ghrist says. "Wires were run out the window into a sound truck that recorded the event."

Family members said Buffalo grew up in Chicago during the Great Depression. His mother was a single parent who diligently saved to purchase her son a trumpet. He began lessons as a teen and it became his passion.

"He was inspired by Harry James and the big band sound," said his son, Bryan Buffalo.

Buffalo served in the Navy during the Korean War, where even on board the USS Kula Gulf, he not only played his trumpet, but led the ship's band.

After leaving the service, Buffalo worked as a butcher and eventually ran his own shop, Main Street Meat Market in downtown Algonquin.

"Everybody in McHenry County knew Vito," his son says. "He'd run the butcher shop during the day, come home and eat dinner with the family, before leaving to go play his music."

The band recorded several albums, and consequently, their music continues to entertain audiences.

Ghrist hosts a radio program, Midwest Ballroom, from 5-7 p.m. every Saturday night on 90.9 FM, WDCB, the public radio station broadcast from the campus of the College of DuPage. It has aired for 15 years, playing territory orchestras dedicated to keeping the big-band era alive in the Chicago area.

"Vito Buffalo is a musical legend," Ghrist says.

His band members continue to pay tribute to their leader. They organized a concert in his honor in February, and will play another show dedicated to Buffalo on the day of his funeral.

Services for Buffalo will take place at 11 a.m. July 20, at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 451 W. Terra Cotta Ave. in Crystal Lake. The tribute concert by the Vito Buffalo Orchestra will take place at 4 p.m. at Riverside Park in Algonquin.