Big Band in the Sky
Remembering Jack DeJohnette: Unlimited Imagination
by Ian Patterson
It is with sadness that All About jazz must report the passing of NEA Jazz Master Jack DeJohnette--one of the most respected and influential of modern jazz drummers. He died of congestive heart failure on October 26, 2025. He was 83. DeJohnette belongs in the pantheon of great jazz drummers. If there were a Mount Rushmore of jazz drummers--and it would need to be one big old rock--Jack DeJohnette would certainly be there. His unique and ...
Continue ReadingRemembering Hermeto Pascoal: The Sorcerer's Spell
by Ian Patterson
Hermeto Pascoal, the one-of-a-kind Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer, has gone to the great gig in the sky. Known affectionately as Bruxo (Sorcerer), Pascoal passed away on September 13, 2025. He was 89. Few musicians have traversed as many styles of Brazilian music as Pascoal. His first commercial recording, in 1956, was with Clóvis Pereira--the renowned composer of folkloric, choral and orchestral works; Pascoal plays sanfona (button accordion) on two tracks. Over the next 65 years, Pascoal contributed to ...
Continue ReadingUnforgettable Bob Perkins’ Backstory: How The Content of His Character Stamped Him In Our Memory
by Victor L. Schermer
On Sunday, January 19, 2025, WRTI Jazz Radio icon Bob Perkins passed away in the early hours of the morning, at age 91, at Jefferson Abington Hospital, near where he lived for many years with his wife, Dr. Sheila K. Perkins. He will always be remembered for his decades-long work as a radio broadcaster and as a devoted presence in the Philadelphia jazz scene. After pursuing various avenues of broadcasting news and jazz, with some serious writing thrown in to ...
Continue ReadingRemembering Susan Alcorn: Bucking The Trends
by Ian Patterson
All About Jazz is saddened to learn of the passing of Susan Alcorn--pedal steel guitarist extraordinaire. She died on January 31st of natural causes. Perhaps more than any other pedal steel guitarist before her, Alcorn took her instrument into musical terrain not usually associated with it. She played country music for twenty years, but she also brought her instrument to bear on contemporary classical music, folk music, jazz and more experimental music. Born in Allentown, PA ...
Continue ReadingRemembering All About Jazz's Chris May
by AAJ Staff
With profound sadness, the All About Jazz family mourns the loss of Chris May (1946-2024), a luminous soul whose passion and dedication took AAJ to new heights during his 20 year tenure. Chris was more than a colleague--he was a beloved writer, a brilliant editor, and a cherished friend whose words dazzled with grace and insight. We invite our community to honor Chris's memory by sharing your stories and reflections that capture his remarkable spirit. Please email us your tributes ...
Continue ReadingIn Memory of Doug Sides
by Bernadette Hawkes
Douglas Joseph Sides, born Los Angeles CA, October 10, 1942--died Ramsgate, Kent, UK, October 10, 2024. Doug spent many years in the seaside towns of Margate and Ramsgate in the Thanet area of Kent, United Kingdom. He was a well known and much loved drummer in the region and beyond.. He was supposed to be retired. However, he did not stop playing locally and occasionally in London. He continued to teach and mentor drummers. He was a stalwart ...
Continue ReadingRemembering Quincy Jones: Music Is Like Water
by Ian Patterson
Quincy Jones, a giant of popular music culture in the 20th and 21st centuries, died in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 3, He was 91. Though he began his career in the '50s as a jazz trumpeter, Quincy Jones may be best remembered as a highly successful producer, arranger and conductor--hats he wore with increasing frequency from the '60s onwards. As a producer, Jones was at the helm of Michael Jackson's Thriller (Epic, 1982), which would sell 70 ...
Continue ReadingRemembering Dan Morgenstern
by Sanford Josephson
This article previously appeared in Jersey Jazz Magazine. In 1938 when Dan Morgenstern was eight years old, he and his mother fled Nazi-controlled Austria for Copenhagen. Nine years later, they arrived in New York, and Morgenstern was not interested in seeing the Statute of Liberty or the Empire State Building. He just wanted to go to 52nd Street. Morgenstern, jazz writer, historian, jazz advocate and fan (and Jersey Jazz columnist), passed away in New York on ...
Continue ReadingTony Haynes 1941 - 2024
by Chris May
It is with great sadness that All About Jazz reports the passing of Tony Haynes, the founder and for over 40 years the creative director of London's Grand Union Orchestra (GUO). Haynes left us on 17 September 2024. Under his visionary leadership, GUO did much to take forward the idea of jazz as a multi-cultural artform, and to celebrate the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic city that London is, representing Haynes' hopes for the world--hopes that he did not just sit back and ...
Continue ReadingRemembering All About Jazz's Dave Binder / John Kelman
by AAJ Staff
It is with great sadness that All About Jazz must announce the death of Dave Binder, better known to millions of readers as John Kelman. Dave died of a heart attack on August 10th, after a long bout of illness. For twenty years Dave was the most internationally renowned of all AAJ's contributors, penning over 2,700 articles which racked up tens of millions of page views. As senior editor for many years, Dave was a guide and mentor to numerous ...
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