Obituary News

Duane Jarvis L.A. Roots Music Singer-Songwriter and Guitarist Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
April 2, 2009

Duane Jarvis, a stalwart of the Los Angeles roots music scene whose lead guitar work landed him stints playing with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Michelle Shocked and others when he wasn't recording and touring as a respected singer-songwriter in his own right, died Wednesday after a long bout with colon cancer. He was 51.

Jarvis died at his home in Marina del Rey, where he was receiving hospice care after stopping treatment that in recent months had included ...

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Composer Maurice Jarre Spun Screen Magic

Source: Michael Ricci
March 31, 2009

AN APPRECIATION The writer of such scores as Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia evoked the grandeur of exotic locales while hewing to his own masterful voice.

From the mystical overtones of Ghost to the primitive sounds of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, to the Russian balalaikas in Doctor Zhivago, composer Maurice Jarre always seemed to find the right signature for every film he scored. And unlike so many of today's thundering but essentially interchangeable big-orchestra-plus-electronics scores, the voice ...

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Frances Blaisdell, Girl Flutist Who Opened Doors, Dies at 97

Source: Michael Ricci
March 31, 2009

Frances Blaisdell, a flutist who played her way into what was then the male world of orchestral music, becoming one of the early women to play a woodwind instrument with the New York Philharmonic, died on March 11 in Portola Valley, Calif.

In addition to playing with the Philharmonic, Ms. Blaisdell performed with prominent chamber ensembles, on Broadway, at Radio City Music Hall, in vaudeville, and with Phil Spitalny and His All-Girl Orchestra on the Hour of Charm on CBS ...

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Maurice Jarre, Composer for 'Lawrence of Arabia,' Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 30, 2009

Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre, who captured the majesty of the desert in his music for Lawrence of Arabia and wrote the haunting “Lara's Theme" in his score for Doctor Zhivago, has died. He was 84.

Jarre died over the weekend in Los Angeles, where he had lived for decades, Bernard Miyet, a friend of the composer and leader of the French musicians' guild, SACEM, said today. No cause of death was given.

Born in 1924 in Lyon, France, Jarre studied ...

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Steven Bach, Producer, Biographer, Final Cut Passes

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2009

Steven Bach, who as a studio executive at United Artists took the fall for the colossal failure of the western epic Heavens Gate.

Bach went on to write Final Cut, a gripping insider account of the debacle, died on Wednesday at his home in Arlington, Vt. He was 70 and also had a home in Munich.

At United Artists, where he became senior vice president in charge of worldwide production in 1978, Mr. Bach had the misfortune to be associated ...

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Dan Seals Part of Pop Duo Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 26, 2009

Dan Seals, who was England Dan in the pop duo England Dan and John Ford Coley and later had a successful country career, has died of complications from cancer. He was 61.

Longtime manager Tony Gottlieb said Seals, diagnosed with lymphoma two years ago, died Wednesday night at his daughter's home in Nashville.

With England Dan and John Ford Coley, Seals had hits including “I'd Really Like to See You Tonight" and “Nights Are Forever," both in 1976. His ...

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Uriel Jones Motown Drummer Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
March 26, 2009

Uriel Jones, a drummer with the Funk Brothers, the studio musicians at Motown Records who played without credit on virtually every hit during that label’s heyday in the 1960s, died on Tuesday in Dearborn, Mich. He was 74.

The cause was complications of a recent heart attack, his sister-in- law Leslie Coleman said.

Drawn from the ranks of Detroit jazz players by Berry Gordy Jr., the founder of Motown, the Funk Brothers were the label’s regular studio backup band from ...

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New Orleans Bluesman Eddie Bo Dies

Source: Billboard Magazine
March 25, 2009

New Orleans blues singer-pianist Eddie Bo, who worked with musicians such as Irma Thomas and Art Neville, has died of a heart attack. He was 79. His death was confirmed Friday by his close friend and booking agent, Karen Hamilton. Hamilton said Eddie Bo, whose real name was Edwin Joseph Bocage, had a “sudden, massive heart attack" while out of town Wednesday. She said he “went very quickly, very peacefully." Bocage was an accomplished keyboardist-pianist with a career spanning more ...

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