Musician Obituaries (49)
Zola Taylor of the famous 50’s R&B group the Platters died on April 30th at age 69. She was the first female to become part of a male R&B male group, helping break down a lot of gender barriers. Afterwards, lots of other R&B groups started adding a female voice.…
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Big Joe Duskin was part of a tradition of boogie woogie piano players that harks back to the 30’s, including such legends as Meade Lux Lewis, Freddie Slack, Albert Ammons, and Pete Johnson. Big Joe passed away recently, May 6 at age 86, one day before he was scheduled to…
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Jimmy "T99" Nelson whose recording career spanned over 50 years died from cancer on Sunday July 29th in a Houston nursing home. He was 88. Nelson learned the "ins-and-outs" of performing and singing from Big Joe Turner. His passing means those mid-century R&B pioneers are fast becoming an extinct breed.…
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Hank Medress, a founding member of the Tokens, passed away from lung cancer on June 23. He was 68. Back in 1955, he and 3 school buddies from the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn founded the Linc-Tones, soon to be re-named the Tokens. The original group included Neil Sedaka who…
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It was a great shock to hear the sad news of Richard Bell, keyboard great in The Band, passing away unexpectedly at his home here in Toronto, Ontario, Friday, June 15, 2007, at the age of 61. I heard this unhappy news from my good friend, guitarist Buzz Thompson, who…
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Lee Hazlewood died peacefully at his home outside Las Vegas, USA, after a three year struggle with renal cancer surrounded by family and Friends from around the world. He was 78. He succeeded in a music industry he was dismissive of, and is most famous for his work with Nancy…
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Hey friendsThe last time I felt so much grief was when I was a boy hearing of Terry Kath's (guitarist/composer/singer in the original Chicago band) passing. I remember the first time I heard Weather Report when I was around 8 years old in my room on my portable suitcase record…
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On Saturday Nov 10th, a memorial service, including a funeral processional, will be held for multi-instrumentalist Tim Eyermann as part of the Cape May Jazz Festival. Eyermann passed away May 1, after a battle with lung cancer that was complicated by pneumonia. A great favorite at the festival, Eyermann opened…
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National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, bebop pioneer, and one of the pillars of the jazz drum tradition, Max Roach has passed away at 83 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's. One of only four drummers among the N.E.A. list of greats--he is joined by Kenny Clarke, Louis Bellson…
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Janis Martin who passed away on Sep 3 at age 67 was known as "The Female Elvis". It was a hard-earned title and most aficionados of the genre consider her the first female rock 'n' roller. Back in 1955, just after Elvis signed on with them she recorded on RCA…
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We've just been notified that Frank Morgan passed away peacefully from kidney failure this morning, near his family and friends in his hometown of Minneapolis. He had just completed a successful European tour, even though he was worried about his health. A memorial gathering is planned in his longtime home…
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Pianist/composer/bandleader Oscar Peterson, one of the most popular jazz artists in history, died on Sunday, December 23, 2007, at his home in Mississauga , Ontario , outside Toronto . He was 82. Peterson recorded with most of the jazz greats over the years. He played alongside giants like Louis Armstrong,…
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Jeff Healey was a one of a kind. A kind man with a hearty laugh, and infectious sense of humor. He could get the whole place laughing, and at the same time poke fun at himself and the blindness which claimed his sight from retinoblastoma when he was only one…
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Clarinetist, saxophonist, occasional flutist, composer, and bandleader Jimmy Giuffre has died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, two days before his 87th birthday. A victim of Parkinson's disease, he had been inactive as a performer for several years. Giuffre is survived by his wife of 47 years, Juanita. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Giuffre…
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Ray Brown Jr., the son of legendary jazz performers Ray Brown and Ella Fitzgerald, is being joined by some of his friends and other artists he has admired to create a truly unique album put out by SRI Jazz with veteran producer Shelly Liebowitz at the helm. All-star guests from…
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The Brazilian music world has been saddened by the passing of one of its most cherished members. Walter Santos, one of the key names in the bossa nova movement, succumbed to cancer June 29th at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo. Santos was less well-known to American audiences than…
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The jazz world is saddened this week with the loss of another of its legendary performers. Tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, a mainstay of the hard bop generation, who worked with such luminaries as Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and John Coltrane, was found dead on Friday…
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Guitarist Joe Beck has died of complications from lung cancer on July 22nd in Woodbury, Connecticut, four days from his 63rd birthday. Originally from Philadelphia, Beck enjoyed a career spanning over four decades during which he exhibited a wide stylistic range, performing and recording with a Who's Who of musicians…
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The jazz world has lost one of its finest writers and historians. On September 19th, after a lengthy illness, Richard Sudhalter finally succumbed to aspiration pneumonia in a New York City hospital. He was 69. Although he was himself a fine musician, Sudhalter was best known for his writings, which…
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Master Conguero, Percussionist, Producer, Composer, Solo Artist July 17, 1945 - September 29, 2008 NEW YORK, New York - October 2, 2008 -- Norman Hedman, whose mastery of crossing more than three decades of music genres and generations, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York on Monday, September…
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