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Willie Mitchell: R.I.P.
Source:
JamBase
Willie Mitchell March 1, 1928 - January 5, 2010
Obituary By The Recording Academy:
Willie Mitchell We are deeply saddened by the passing of Willie Mitchell.
An accomplished trumpeter who led one of the region's premier bands of the '50s, he made the transition to recording star at Hi Records in the '60s. At Hi he became a vital part of the organization by engineering, producing, scouting talent and eventually running the label. A true renaissance man, Willie ...
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Willie Mitchell Record Producer Worked with al Green Dies
Source:
Michael Ricci
The trumpeter, who had hits such as 'Soul Serenade' in the 1960s, helped mold the Memphis soul sound with Green and Ann Peebles.
Willie Mitchell, an influential record producer, label head and musician who worked closely with singer Al Green and other stars to help mold the Memphis soul sound, died Tuesday. He was 81. Mitchell died at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., more than two weeks after he suffered cardiac arrest Dec. 19, said his son, Lawrence Mitchell. ...
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Bob Willoughby (1927-2009)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bob Willoughby, a West Coast photographer whose candid images of celebrities in the 1950s portrayed the thrill and exhaustion of stardom and whose photos of Big Jay McNeely, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday and other jazz musicians captured their profound commitment to the music, died on December 18th of cancer at his home in Vence, France. He was 82.
Bob was a fan of JazzWax and kindly allowed me to use his images of Big Jay McNeely when I interviewed the ...
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Vic Chesnutt: RIP 1964 - 2009
Source:
JamBase
VIC CHESNUTT 1964 - 2009
Delta Spirit Singer, songwriter, guitarist Vic Chesnut died on Christmas Day, December 25, 2009. According to Twitter reports from Chesnutt's close friend Kristin Hersh, Chesnutt slipped into a coma after attempting to commit suicide. He was 45 years old.
Chesnutt had a remarkable career, releasing 16 albums and captivating audiences with countless live shows that would affect fans in profound ways. He has collaborated with a plethora of artists, perhaps most famously with Widespread Panic ...
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Terry Pollard, 1931-2009
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Terry Pollard was a gifted pianist whose ability paralleled that of her fellow Detroiters Tommy Flanagan and Barry Harris. She shared their grasp of the bebop vocabulary and, some admirers claimed, swung even harder. I became aware of her when she recorded with the vibraharpist Terry Gibbs in the early 1950s. She is with Gibbs on this album, one of her few recordings. In the picture below, which I pirated from the photo section of Bill Crow's web site, Ms. ...
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Bob Borgestede Memorial Concert Set for Friday, January 15
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Friends and musical colleagues of Bob Borgestede are planning a memorial concert to honor the late guitarist on Friday, January 15 at the Rialto Ballroom in the Grand Center district of St. Louis.The show will start at 7:00 p.m., and will include music from faculty members and alumni of SIUE, UMSL and Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) - all schools where Borgestede either studied or taught - as well as the Funky Butt Brass Band and Arvell and Company. ...
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Torrie Zito, Pianist and Arranger, is Dead at 76
Source:
Michael Ricci
Torrie Zito, a versatile arranger who worked with swingers like Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra as well as younger performers like John Lennon, Sinead OConnor and Clay Aiken, died on Thursday at his home in Manhattan. He was 76. The cause was emphysema, his stepson, Alan Merrill, said. Mr. Zito, who started out as a jazz pianist in the bebop mold of Bud Powell, found lasting success as an arranger and orchestrator proficient in a wide variety of ...
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