Obituary News

Johnny Griffin RIP

Source: All About Jazz
July 26, 2008

Johnny Griffin, a tenor saxophonist whose technical command set standards for his instrument and who refused to compromise his art, died today at his home in the village of Mauprevoir in France. From Ben Ratliff's obituary of Griffin in today's New York Times:

His height -- around five feet five -- earned him the nickname “The Little Giant"; his speed in bebop improvising marked him as “The Fastest Gun in the West"; a group he led with Eddie ...

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Guitarist Joe Beck Dead at 62

Source: All About Jazz
July 26, 2008

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Saxophonist Johnny Griffin Dies at 80

Source: Michael Ricci
July 25, 2008

Johnny Griffin, a jazz tenor-saxophonist from Chicago whose speed, control, and harmonic acuity made him one of the most talented musicians of his generation, and who abandoned his hopes for an American career when he moved to Europe in 1963, died Friday at his home in Availles-Limouzine, a village in France. He was 80 and had lived in Availles-Limouzine for 24 years. His death was announced to Agence France-Presse by his wife, who did not give a cause. He played ...

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Remembering Ira Schulman

Source: All About Jazz
July 25, 2008

Musician, teacher and Duke Ellington Society member Ira Schulman passed away in Los Angeles on July 20, 2008. Ira was born in Chicago on December 1, 1926. He received a clarinet for his Bar Mitzvah in 1939 and began his long career as a musician playing mostly jazz but also classical and any music which interested him. Ira's curiosity led him to learn to play the rest of the single reed family and, later, the flute. He initially played the ...

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Johnny Griffin Dies a 80

Source: All About Jazz
July 25, 2008

Johnny Griffin, Jazzman Who Played With Coltrane, Monk, Dies By Mark Schoifet July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Johnny Griffin, the jazz musician who was once billed as the “world's fastest saxophonist" and played alongside Thelonious Monk, Lionel Hampton and John Coltrane, has died. He was 80. Griffin died today at his home in the village of Mauprevior, in southwest France, said his agent, Helene Manfredi. The cause wasn't disclosed. He had been scheduled to perform tonight. Nicknamed the “Little Giant," Griffin ...

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Joseph E. Fields, Conductor, Composer and Pianist, is Dead at 53

Source: Michael Ricci
July 22, 2008

Joseph E. Fields, a pianist, conductor and composer who was a former music director and principal conductor of Dance Theater of Harlem.

Fields after a short illness died on July 4 in Scranton, Pa. He was 53 and had homes in Scranton and New York City. After working with Dance Theater of Harlem from 1998 to 2004, Mr. Fields became the orchestra director and administrator of the music school at Marywood University in Scranton in 2005. He was also an ...

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Gerald Wiggins Public Memorial Set

Source: All About Jazz
July 20, 2008

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Jo Stafford

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
July 19, 2008

Jo Stafford, a perfect singer, died on Wednesday. She was ninety years old. There will be obituaries this morning in newspapers all over the world. Web sites have them already. Many people who read them will be hearing of her for the first time because in the 1960s, at the top of her game, she walked away from the music business. Tributes to Jo and memories of her showed up today across the internet. My artsjournal colleague Terry Teachout has ...

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