Richie Havens: January 21, 1941 - April 22, 2013
Beloved folk icon Richie Havens died this morning in his home from a sudden heart attack. He was 72. Havens first became part of musical history during his impromptu opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Best known for his distinctive intense, rhythmic guitar style and soulful covers of pop and folk songs, Havens toured and ...
Memorial for Raymond Eldridge Jr. to be Held Monday, April 15
A memorial service and jam session honoring bassist Raymond Eldridge Jr. will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. this coming Monday, April 15 at Eddie Randle and Sons, 4600 Natural Bridge Rd. Eldridge died Tuesday, April 9 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 69. He had suffered a stroke on March 22, and had been ...
Melvin Rhyne (1936-2013)
Organist Melvin Rhyne—who died of lung cancer on March 5 at age 76 in his hometown of Indianapolis—is perhaps best known for the four spectacular Riverside albums he recorded with Wes Montgomery between 1960 and 1963. Thanks to Resonance Records, we also have recordings with Rhyne and Montgomery from Indianapolis circa 1957 or '58—just before producer ...
Ross Gentile, Former WSIE DJ, Dead at 60
Ross Gentile, known to St. Louis jazz fans for more than 15 years as the host of “Standards In Jazz" on WSIE (88.7 FM), has died. He was 60. Gentile, a longtime resident of Glen Carbon, IL, reportedly had been in poor health for some time, and according to friends and published accounts, had been undergoing ...
Innovative Jazz Trumpeter Donald Byrd Dies at 80
DOVER, DE: Jazz musician Donald Byrd, a leading hard-bop trumpeter of the 1950s who collaborated on dozens of albums with top artists of his time and later enjoyed commercial success with hit jazz-funk fusion records such as “Black Byrd," has died. He was 80. He died Feb. 4 in Delaware, according to Haley Funeral Directors in ...
Donald Byrd (1932-2013)
Death is a devastating event for loved ones. The finality of loss is crushing and leaves family members feeling helpless, particularly when the deceased is notable and the media seeks information. Over the past week or so, rumors circulated about the passing of trumpeter Donald Byrd. Some blogs and radio disc jockeys decided that a Facebook ...
Donald Byrd, 1932-2013
On several blogs and websites, a man name Alex Bugnon, a nephew of trumpeter Donald Byrd, is quoted as saying that Byrd died on Monday in Dover, Delaware, his home in recent years. According to the reports,Bugnon said that other members of Byrd‘s family were keeping the death of the 80-year-old jazz artist under “an unnecessary ...
Paul Tanner Dies At 95; Trombonist With Glenn Miller Orchestra
Paul Tanner, a trombonist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra who became a prominent jazz educator at UCLA and created an unusual electronic musical instrument heard on the Beach Boys' classic 1966 hit “Good Vibrations," has died. He was 95. Tanner died of pneumonia Tuesday at an assisted-living facility near his home in Carlsbad, Calif., said his ...
"Unchain My Heart" Songwriter Bobby Sharp Dies At Age 88
Bobby Sharp, 88, of Alameda, passed away on Monday, January 28. His passing marked the end of a life filled with generosity toward friends, colorful storytelling about mid-century times in Los Angeles, New York, and California, and a long songwriting career highlighted by his 1961 hit, “Unchain My Heart." Bobby was born in 1924 in Topeka, ...
Butch Morris, RIP
The ceaselessly innovative and searching composer and Butch Morris died yesterday in New York. He had been under treatment of cancer for several years. Morris was 65. He developed an approach to big band music that he called conduction. It made demands on musicians by insisting on intensive, intuitive listening, reaction and interaction. The effort involved ...
Patty Andrews Dies At 94; Andrews Sisters' Last Surviving Member
They were the swinging, sassy voice of the homefront for U.S. service personnel overseas during World War II, singing catchy hit tunes such as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and “Rum and Coca Cola" that delighted Americans and catapulted the Andrews Sisters to the very top of the pop charts. One of the most successful female recording ...
Norwegian Guitarist Morten Molster: 1963-2013
By Jon Trygve Utne Morten Mølster, aged 50, died from a sudden cardiac arrest Monday this week during physical exercise. To fans of trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær, he will be remembered for playing on the iconic album Khmer (ECM, 1997), but in Norway he was best known as the guitarist in The September When, in the ...
George Gruntz Remembered
The death of George Gruntz last Thursday brought responses from dozens of the musicians who played in his Concert Jazz Band over the past 40 years. The Swiss pianist, composer and arranger hired an international who’s-who of players for his annual tours in Europe, the United States and South America, among other places around the globe. ...
Claude Nobs, Founder Of Montreux Jazz Festival, Dies At 76
Claude Nobs, 76, the founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival, whose passion for music and artistry introduced generations of legendary musicians to international audiences on the Swiss stage, died Thursday after sustaining injuries from a fall while cross- country skiing nearby on Christmas Eve. The Jazz Festival announced his death. Nobs, a native ...
