Obituary News

Long-time Music Publicist Harriet Wasser Dies

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
October 6, 2006

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Oldest Surviving Blues Artist Henry Townsend Dies

Source: All About Jazz
September 26, 2006

Henry Townsend, who recorded every decade since the '20s, dies

--CHERYL WITTENAUER, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Blues guitarist Henry Townsend, who fled to St. Louis as a boy then stayed for a prolific career that spanned eight decades, died Sunday of pulmonary embolism in Grafton, Wis., where he was being honored. He was 96.

Townsend, who wrote and published hundreds of songs and accompanied musicians on hundreds more, began recording in 1929 and continued every decade since, an accomplishment ...

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Dewey Redman, 75, Jazz Saxophonist, Dies

Source: All About Jazz
September 3, 2006

Dewey Redman, an expansive and poetic tenor saxophonist and bandleader who had been at the aesthetic frontiers of jazz since the 1960s, died on Saturday in Brooklyn. He was 75 and lived in Brooklyn. The cause was liver failure, said Velibor Pedevski, his brother-in-law. Walter Redman was born and grew up in Fort Worth. He started off on clarinet at 13, playing in a church band. Not long after, he met Ornette Coleman when they both played in the high ...

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Tributes To Maynard Ferguson from Various Trombonists

Source: All About Jazz
September 2, 2006

Dave Dickey, trombone - Groove Bone Radio Walter “Maynard" Ferguson was one of the most influential musicians and band leaders in the history of Jazz. Not only was Maynard a great musician, but also a great educator. He spent many hours/days/years educating musicians of all ages about jazz music. As David Von Drehle from the Washington Post mentioned, “Maynard Ferguson did his best to blow some hormones back into the band room". Well said. He started the careers ...

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Maynard Ferguson Passes Away

Source: All About Jazz
August 28, 2006

Maynard Ferguson: Trumpeter, flugelhornist, valve trombonist, bandleader, b. Verdun (part of Montreal) 4 May 1928. Maynard passed away late last night in California from kidney failure.

After recently completing a new live recording and closing out his amazing performing career with a historic run at Birdland last month in NYC, Maynard Ferguson passed away peacefully in California Wednesday evening.

As a child he studied piano and violin, and played the latter instrument in a Fox-Movietone short. Taking up the trumpet ...

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Legendary Brazilian Composer And Arranger Moacir Santos Dies At 80 Years Of Age

Source: GoMedia PR
August 8, 2006

Acclaimed Musician Had Recently Won Both Shell Music and Premio Tim Awards

Moacir Santos, the legendary composer and arranger whose body of work served to expand popular preconceptions of Brazilian music beyond bossa nova and Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB), died in Pasadena, California on Sunday, August 6th. Santos was recently enjoying a resurgence of interest in his career, thanks in part to the efforts of producers Mario Adnet and Ze Nogueira, and New York based record label Adventure Music.

“Moacir's ...

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Love's Arthur Lee Dies at 61

Source: All About Jazz
August 5, 2006

Arthur Lee, the talented and oft-troubled singer and guitarist for the influential '60s-era band Love, died in a Memphis hospital after a lengthy battle with leukemia, according to his manager. He was 61.

“It was a complete surprise to me.

He's had leukemia for the past few months, but he was coming along until this past weekend, when he just crashed," Mark Linn, Lee's manager, told MTV News. “He passed away at around 4 p.m. [on Thursday], with his wife ...

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Don Lusher's Memorial Service

Source: All About Jazz
August 4, 2006

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