He was known for having a smooth, velvety playing style and a Chicago club that was considered to be one of the supports of modern jazz.

Fred Anderson, who was a tenor saxophonist, is known for having a smooth, velvety playing style, has died. He was 81 years old.

His sons, Eugene and Michael, said their father died on Thursday, but they declined to offer added information. He had a heart attack on June 14.

Anderson, a Louisiana native born March 22, 1929, performed in relative dimness for years, saying he was strong-minded to stay in Chicago and help promote cutting-edge jazz in its place of going to New York or somewhere else.

He took every day jobs until 1982, when he opened the Velvet Lounge, christening it after someone's admiration for his playing style.

The idea was to keep upcoming musicians going on, so that, they could develop their music here before taking it out to the world, Anderson said in 2006.

Those, who come here, learn how to listen and how to play with each other, which is extremely tricky. That is how jazz has developed from its early years.

Velvet Lounge fans helped in raising money to assist Anderson in order to move the club, half a mile away.