Ricardo "Ric" Maroni had his chance to travel the world on the strength of his music, but he chose to grace the Pittsburgh jazz scene instead -- and did so for more than half a century.

"He was a very fine musician," trombonist Harold Betters said of his trumpet-playing friend. But Mr. Betters said it was Mr. Maroni's personality that truly set him apart.

"He'd go out into the audience, tell people they looked good, talk to them," Mr. Betters said. "If someone said they played, he'd invite them up on stage. He was always looking to encourage people."

The former leader of Ric Maroni and the Jets and a fixture in Pittsburgh music clubs died Thursday. He was 78.

Mr. Maroni, of Plum, fell in love with the trumpet in high school, and formed the Jets in 1948 when he was all of 18. The band stayed together for 20 years.

He spent his career filling clubs like the Lamplighter Lounge, West View Danceland, Kennywood Danceland and Johnny's, and for years played to packed houses every weekend night at the Sweetwater Lounge in Monroeville. He also jammed with musicians like Artie Shaw, Lena Horne, Ray Anthony and anyone else making a Pittsburgh stop.

"After the gig they'd go into the hall with instruments and jam, and Ric would play with them," his son-in-law, John Marinacci, said.

Mr. Maroni's personal life was tumultuous, but ultimately happy. His first daughter, born in 1952, was put up for adoption. He then married the baby's mother in 1953 and they had another daughter, but divorced a few years later. He married the former Patricia McClure about 10 years after that.

"He was playing at the Veranda Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla.," she said. She was vacationing there, "went in there one night, and the rest is history."

Meanwhile, Mr. Maroni maintained a relationship with his daughter, and wondered about the adopted baby.

She ended up coming back into his life 28 years after she left it.

"I'd had a good life, but I was always curious," Mary Jo Marinacci said. Her parents said they "only had the name of this famous trumpet player, but he's not your father" -- her mother had lied in the paperwork to protect Mr. Maroni's reputation.

"I called him, and when I said who I was, he screamed, 'I've got to meet you! Oh, honey, I've thought about you so much.' "

She quickly forged a close relationship with her father and said she and her long-lost sister, Victoria Howard, were both "Daddy's girls" until the end of his life.

Mr. Maroni preferred fronting small combos to playing with bigger bands, and fronted his own groups through the 1980s and into the 1990s.

"It came early to him," his wife said. Even in his school days, "he didn't get into sports, baseball or football. It was all music, music, music.

"God gave him a beautiful gift."

In addition to his wife and daughters, Mr. Maroni is survived by two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. today at St. Januarius Church, 1450 Renton Road, Plum, with burial to follow in Plum Creek Cemetery.