TubeNet

Erik Kleven, 56, a bassist and tuba player who taught music for many years, was driving his white 1964 Volvo east on Highway 16 [Saturday afternoon] just before 3 p.m. when he collided head-on with a blue 1997 Volvo sedan traveling west, investigators said.

Kleven's neighbors on Sloat Way, the Curtis Park street where he lived for much of his life, said they were in shock after a representative from the Coroner's Office arrived to deliver the news. Kleven lived alone in a Craftsman bungalow with a collection of cats, basses and tubas. His ex-wife and teenage son live down the street, said Nick Willow, 35, a friend, neighbor and former student.

Willow, who delivered the news of Kleven's death to his wife and son, said it was "devastating."

"He's a pillar of the Sacramento music scene," Willow said. "If you're a musician in Sacramento, you've either taken lessons from the guy or you've seen him in a band. It's pretty devastating."

He called Kleven a "gentle soul" whose house was packed with books and who freely offered to let people borrow his instruments.

"He probably has a dozen or two-dozen instruments out there in Sacramento right now," Willow said. "The words he used were 'the indefinite loan.' "