Obituary News

David (Bosco) Danford 1961-2005

Source: All About Jazz
July 11, 2005

NEW YORK The musician and songwriter David Danford, known to friends and associates as “Bosco”, died Tuesday, June 28, in Brooklyn, following a lengthy illness. Danford was born March 23, 1961 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the youngest of four sons of Thomas Danford, a Brooklyn police officer, and his wife, Beatrice, a homemaker. A precocious child with a humorous, quick wit, Danford sang in the choir and was an altar boy at St. Cyril & Methodius Church, prior to graduating from ...

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Pianist/arranger Tom Talbert dead at 80

Source: All About Jazz
July 8, 2005

LOS ANGELES - Tom Talbert, a self-taught pianist who arranged music for jazz greats such as Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton and Claude Thornhill, has died. He was 80.

Talbert died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a severe stroke, his family said.

Talbert became interested in arranging at age 15 after hearing big bands on the radio. During World War II, he joined the Army and became an arranger for a military band at Ft. Ord that ...

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John Stubblefield Viewing & Funeral Arrangements

Source: All About Jazz
July 8, 2005

Following is an announcement for John's funeral in Little Rock. An address where a card can be sent is at the end. I trust this radio community will send their condolences: John Stubblefield, of New York City, aged 60, went to share his God given musical talent with the heavenly father on July 4th 2005. He was born to the late Mable and Johnnie Stubblefield. He was preceded in death by a brother William L. Stubblefield. John Stubblefield’s career as ...

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Funkadelic singer Ray Davis dead at 65

Source: All About Jazz
July 7, 2005

TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) - Ray Davis, a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic, a flamboyant 1970s funk band whose music is considered a precursor to modern rap and hip hop, died Tuesday from respiratory complications at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, said his son, Derrick. He was 65.

Davis provided bass vocals on songs such as “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucka)," “One Nation Under A Groove" and “Flashlight." The latter two songs reached ...

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Pianist 'Big' Al Downing dead at 65

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - “Big” Al Downing, a singer-songwriter and pianist who had success in country, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll and even disco, died Monday after suffering from leukemia. He was 65.

Downing, of Leicester, Mass., was hospitalized last week and died in Massachusetts, his publicist Martha Moore said Tuesday.

He was one of the few successful black country artists.

Downing began his career as a keyboard player in rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson’s band, performing on Jackson’s biggest ...

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Bass great Pierre Michelot dead at 77

Source: All About Jazz
July 5, 2005

PARIS (AP) - Jazz bassist Pierre Michelot, who recorded with Miles Davis and arranged music for Chet Baker, has died, a fellow musician said Monday. He was 77.

The bass player, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died in Paris on Sunday, said pianist Rene Urtreger, a member of Michelot's longtime jazz trio, HUM.

Michelot played with Davis on one of the great soundtracks of the 1950s, for Louis Malle's classic thriller Ascenseur pour L'Echafaud (Elevator to the Gallows). He recorded ...

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John Stubblefield Feb. 4, 1945-July 4, 2005

Source: All About Jazz
July 5, 2005

5 July 2005

At five minutes before seven on the evening of the forth July 2005, after enduring great suffering with remarkable strength and courage, our beloved John Stubblefield left us on a soft note held gently at the end of a bitter sweet ballad.

Surrounded with love by wife Katherine Gogel, sister Joyce Pattillo, cousins Harry Stubblefield and Stephanie Barber, and by friends Rolando Briceño and Yvonne, John quietly passed away into paradise, where he will compose brilliant works ...

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Reggae producer Clancy Eccles dead at 64

Source: All About Jazz
July 3, 2005

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Clancy Eccles, a pioneer Jamaican reggae singer and producer, died Thursday. He was 64.

Mr. Eccles died at a hospital in Spanish Town, outside the capital of Kingston, five days after suffering a stroke, said his son Clancy Eccles Jr.

Mr. Eccles started his career as a singer in the 1950s and rose to prominence with the 1961 hit song “River Jordan."

In 1967, he turned to music production, producing ”Kingston Town” by the Trinidadian singer Lloyd ...

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