Obituary News

From ACT Records: Esbjorn Svensson Dies in Diving Accident on June 14, 2008

Source: All About Jazz
June 16, 2008

Swedish pianist and composer Esbjorn Svensson died in a diving accident on Saturday June 14, 2008 aged 44. Our thoughts are with his mourning wife and children and his long time musical associates Dan Berglund and Magnus Ostrom. Esbjorn Svensson was one of the most influential jazz artists in recent history and his band e.s.t. were considered one of the most successful jazz groups in Europe and beyond. e.s.t. became famous for their innovative mix of jazz, contemporary rock and ...

Continue Reading...

Jazz Champion Esbjorn Svensson Dies at 44

Source: All About Jazz
June 16, 2008

The Swedish jazz pianist and composer Esbjorn Svensson has died in a scuba diving accident near the Swedish capital Stockholm. He was 44. His Esbjorn Svensson Trio, known as EST, became renowned for bringing jazz to a younger audience. They gained international acclaim playing in rock venues, using light shows and fog machines at concerts. The music of EST drew on disparate influences, ranging from classical music to funk. Burkhard Hopper, EST's manager, told Reuters news agency that Svensson had ...

Continue Reading...

Swedish Jazz Star Esbjorn Svensson Dies in Diving Accident

Source: All About Jazz
June 16, 2008

STOCKHOLM (AFP) -- Swedish jazz star Esbjorn Svensson was killed at the weekend in a scuba diving accident off Stockholm, his manager said Monday. He was 44. According to Swedish media reports, Svensson had been diving with a group and an instructor in the Stockholm archipelago when he suddenly disappeared. The married father of two had been found badly injured on the sea bed and had been transported by helicopter to a Stockholm hospital, where he died shortly before midnight ...

Continue Reading...

Jazz Pianist Esbjorn Svensson Killed in Scuba Accident

Source: All About Jazz
June 16, 2008

Continue Reading...

Stan Winston Visual Effects Artist Dies

Source: All About Jazz
June 16, 2008

Stan Winston Oscar-winning visual effects artist of creatures from Aliens, Terminator 2, to the T Rex of Jurassic Park.

Winston died at home Sunday evening after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, according to a rep from Stan Winston Studio. “Stan died peacefully at home surrounded by family," a spokeswoman said. He was 62. Winston won four visual effects Oscars and earned multiple nominations. His first Oscar was for James Cameron's Aliens (1986). Winston later won two Oscars for Terminator ...

Continue Reading...

Pianist Esbjorn Svensson Dead at 44

Source: All About Jazz
June 15, 2008

Swedish jazz musician Esbjörn Svensson, 44 years old, died during a diving accident yesterday outside of Värmdö near Stockholm.

He was in a company of divers on Saturday June 14th at a Swedish jetty/landing stage under supervision of a dive-leader when he was found severely injured at the bottom. Resuscitation was unsuccessful. The police will investigate the cause of Svensson's death. The announcement of the death came as a shock for the chairman of the Swedish Jazz Society: “He was ...

Continue Reading...

Bill Reichenbach: A Master Musician Kept His Life's Time in the Rhythm of Jazz

Source: All About Jazz
June 15, 2008

Bill Reichenbach never wanted to do anything except play the drums. When he was 5, he took apart a banjo and started beating out a rhythm on the soundbox. Through the years, he built a solid reputation as a steady rhythmic anchor at Washington nightclubs and for touring big bands. He was never well known beyond the jazz circuit, but for one golden moment, he unexpectedly found himself at the launch of a new national phenomenon. In 1961, Washington guitarist ...

Continue Reading...

Tim Russert Lion of Washington Press Corps

Source: Michael Ricci
June 14, 2008

Tim Russert, the longest-serving moderator of NBC's “Meet the Press" and the lion of the Washington press corps, died of a sudden heart attack Friday.

NBC's Tim Russert dies at 58, had an Irish gusto for politics leavened with civility. Russert had returned early from a family trip to Italy and was working at NBC's Washington bureau, recording voice-overs for Sunday's show, when he collapsed Friday afternoon. His wife, Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair, and their son, Luke, ...

Continue Reading...