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Obituary

Muhal Richard Abrams, RIP

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
November 3, 2017

The Chicago avant-garde jazz patriarch Muhal Richard Abrams died today at 87. Named a National Endowment of The Arts Jazz Master in 2010, the pianist, composer and bandleader was at the center of Chicago’s free jazz movement, which was formalized in 1965 when he co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. The Art Ensemble of Chicago became the best-known group that grew out of the AACM. Freedom and unfettered imagination were the hallmarks of Mr. Abrams’ piano improvisation, ...

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Obituary

R.I.P. Fats Domino: His Musical Traits, Most Popular Songs Explored

Source: HypeBot
October 28, 2017

Renowned musical icon Fats Domino passed away on Tuesday, but the artist's legacy endures. Here we use Pandora's Music Genome project to take a look at some of the traits which permeated Fats' music, and helped to make him so popular. Guest post by Glenn Peoples, Music Insights and Analytics at Pandora on Medium Music icon Antoine “Fats” Domino passed away Tuesday, leaving a legacy and an incalculable impact on future generations of musicians and fans. (Click here for a tribute station at Pandora, “Remembering Fats ...

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Obituary

Jazz this week: Harold López-Nussa, Filippo Cosentino, Alice Ripley, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
October 18, 2017

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes a pianist from Cuba, a guitarist from Italy, a cabaret show from a singer and actress who has earned Broadway's highest honor, and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, October 18 Cuban-born pianist Harold López-Nussa makes his St. Louis debut in the first of four evenings at Jazz at the Bistro. For more about López-Nussa and some video samples of him and his trio in action, see ...

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Obituary

Grady Tate RIP

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 13, 2017

Grady Tate died on Sunday at his home in New York City. He was 85. His wife Vivian said that he had dementia. In demand for years as a drummer, he was encouraged by Peggy Lee to begin singing publicly and launched a new career as a vocalist. Tate’s professional debut was with the organist Wild Bill Davis in 1959. In the decades that followed, he worked with major jazz artists including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Oliver Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, ...

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Obituary

Grady Tate (1932-2017)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 11, 2017

Grady Tate, one of the most prolific drummers in the soul-jazz era beginning in the early 1960s who recorded on nearly 700 sessions and who easily could have had a career as a vocalist, died on October 8. He was 85. Tate began his recording career with Wild Bill Davis, the father of the jazz organ, on Davis's 1959 album Flyin' High. He remained with Davis through four albums in the early 1960s. Listening to the recording today, you realize ...

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Obituary

Pete Turner (1934-2017)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 21, 2017

Pete Turner, a commercial photographer who befriended jazz producer Creed Taylor early in his career in the late 1950s and whose richly saturated color images were used on album covers by Creed when he was at ABC-Paramount, Impulse, Verve, A&M and, most notably, CTI, died Sept. 18. Turner was 83. Pete's iconic images were featured on hundreds of album covers, including Oliver Nelson's The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Wes Montgomery's A Day in the Life, Antonio Carlos Jobim's Wave ...

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Obituary

Larry Elgart (1922-2017)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 1, 2017

Larry Elgart, an alto saxophonist and enterprising and tireless big-band leader whose major success began at the very moment when nearly all other swing orchestras were arthritic relics and the word “band" typically referred to four guys with long hair playing electric instruments and a drum set, died on August 29. He was 95. In the 1950s and '60s, Elgart frequently teamed with his trumpet-playing brother, Les, on albums and in concert, drawing deserved comparisons to other Swing-era siblings including ...

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Obituary

John Abercrombie: 1944-2017

Source: Universal Music Enterprises
August 23, 2017

From Tina Pelikan at ECM Records It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of the great guitarist John Abercrombie. John Abercrombie, one of the great improvisers, died on August 22, after a long illness. He will be much missed, for his sensitive musicality, his good companionship, and his dry humor which enhanced many a session. He leaves behind an extensive discography which will be studied as long as people continue to play jazz guitar. John made his ...

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