Obituary News

Billy Powell Keyboardist for Lynyrd Skynyrd Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
January 28, 2009

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- A keyboardist for the southern rock bank Lynyrd Skynyrd has died at his northeast Florida home.

Orange Park Police Lt. Mark Cornett says 56-year-old keyboard player Billy Powell called 911 about 12:55 a.m.today saying he was having trouble breathing. Rescue crews performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m.

Cornett says no foul play is suspected and an autopsy will not be performed. He says Powell missed a Tuesday appointment with his doctor for ...

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John Updike Prize-Winning Writer Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
January 27, 2009

John Updike, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, prolific man of letters and erudite chronicler of sex, divorce and other adventures in the postwar prime of the American empire, died today at age 76.

Updike, a resident of Beverly Farms, Mass., died of lung cancer, according to a statement from his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf.

A literary writer who frequently appeared on best-seller lists, the tall, hawk-nosed Updike wrote novels, short stories, poems, criticism, the memoir “Self-Consciousness" and even a famous essay ...

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Mariana Bridi Brazilian Model Loses Fight for Life

Source: All About Jazz
January 25, 2009

Doctors had amputated 20-year-old pageant finalist's feet and hands, the beautiful Brazilian Model Mariana Bridi died from complications of an infection that is resistant to antibiotics.

Doctors originally diagnosed her with kidney stones in December, local media said. But as her condition worsened, she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection that spread. The cause of the infection was not immediately known.

It reduced the flow of oxygen to her limbs, causing her feet to be amputated last week and ...

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Leroy Cooper Musician in Charles Band Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
January 24, 2009

Leroy Cooper played baritone saxophone with the Ray Charles band in the 1950s through the '70s. His tenure with the band included recording sessions that yielded the film theme In the Heat of the Night and Charles rendition of America, the Beautiful."

Leroy Cooper, 80, who played baritone saxophone for Ray Charles from the 1950s through the 1970s and at times served as bandleader for the R&B pianist, died of heart failure Jan. 15 at his home in Orlando, Fla., ...

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Gary Kurfirst Record Executive Music Manager Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
January 24, 2009

Gary Kurfirst, 61, a pop music manager, promoter and record executive who played a key role in the success of the bands Talking Heads, Blondie and the Ramones, died Jan. 13 while on vacation in the Bahamas.

A figure in pop music for more than four decades, Kurfirst opened the Village Theater in Manhattan in 1967. The venue later became the Fillmore East. In 1968, he staged the New York Rock Festival in Flushing Meadows Park, which featured Janis Joplin ...

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Jazz Giant David "Fathead" Newman Has Died

Source: All About Jazz
January 23, 2009

Jazz legend David “Fathead" Newman transcended peacefully at a hospital near his home in upstate New York on January 20, 2009, after a long battle with cancer. David, as he preferred to be called, attained international stardom over a long career. Born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24, 1933 and graduating from Lincoln High School in Dallas, Texas, he went on to study theology and music on scholarship at Jarvis Christian College. In 1954 he began his twelve year association ...

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David Fathead Newman, 1933-2009

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
January 23, 2009

Gentle, soulful David Newman is gone. He died on Monday. “Fathead" was a nickname that became a promotional tag, but those close to him knew him as David. They seemed always to say the name with affection whether they were speaking to or about him. He once told the story of his nickname. I was in band class and I had this music on my music stand but it was upside down ... He [Mr. Miller] knew I could ...

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David Fathead Newman Has Gone

Source: Night Lights Classic Jazz
January 22, 2009

Saxophonist David “Fathead" Newman, whose blend of jazz and inimitable Lone Star soul made him an integral part of Ray Charles' orchestra and served him through dozens of impressive leader dates, passed away from pancreatic cancer yesterday. The news came as a surprise to many jazz fans, as Newman had been highly productive in recent years, releasing a CD a year on the HighNote label, and there had been little publicity about his illness. He was a beloved player (a ...

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