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Geri Allen Gone At 60
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Geri Allen died today of cancer. She was 60. Ms. Allen was a pianist of uncommon technical achievement and fluency and inspired a generation of younger pianists. Recently a resident of Pittsburgh, Ms. Allen grew up in Detroit, where she began piano lessons at age seven. While at Cass Technical High School she studied with the trumpeter and Detroit jazz mentor Marcus Belgrave. One of her early trios included bassist Anthony Cox and drummer Andrew Cyrille. In the course of ...
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Mark O'Shaughnessy: 1952-2017
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Funeral services are set for Mark O'Shaughnessy, founder and co-owner of the St. Louis venue BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups. O'Shaughnessy, a longtime advocate for St. Louis music and musicians who opened the first of the club's three incarnations back in 1976, died Saturday, May 27 in his apartment above BB's of complications of diabetes. He was 65. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. this Thursday, June 1 at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois Road. A funeral ...
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Frank Deford (1938-2017)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Frank Deford, a legendary sportswriter with Sports Illustrated from 1962 to 1989 and again from 1998 to the present, as well as an NPR sports commentator for the past 32 years, died on May 28. He was 78. Frank had a way of profiling sports legends with deceptively simple language and colorful insights that became the gold standard for sports magazine feature writing. When I worked for the sports section of The New York Times between 1980 and '85, Frank's ...
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Southern Rock Icon Gregg Allman Dies At 69
Source:
HypeBot
Allman Brothers co-founder and rock icon Gregg Allman has died at aged 69. Allman died quietly at his home in Savannah, Georgia, according to a statement posted to his official website. Allman has struggled with many health issues over the past several years. It is with deep sadness we announce that Gregg Allman, a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, passed away peacefully at his home pic.twitter.com/8g0pAT3kky — Allman Brothers Band (@allmanbrothers) May 27, 2017 "Gregg considered being on ...
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Remembering Dave Pell’s Devotion To His Hero
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Saxophonist and bandleader Dave Pell, a prominent figure in the west coast jazz of the 1950s and ’60s, died on May 8. He was 92. Pell recorded extensively with his octet and the tribute group Prez Conference. Over the years the collective members of those bands included Art Pepper, Red Mitchell, Harry Edison, Mel Lewis, Benny Carter, John Williams and other leading musicians of the day. Pell’s devotion to his hero Lester Young extended to the rescue of Young’s instrument. ...
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Godfather Of Jambands Col. Bruce Hampton Dies After Collapsing On Stage During Birthday Concert
Source:
HypeBot
"Colonel" Bruce Hampton, guitarist, founding member of Hampton Grease and a respected veteran of the jam band scene, died after collapsing on stage during his 70th birthday concert. I had the pleasure of working with Bruce over the years, and he was every bit a smart, talented and special as the accolades pouring in suggest. Jamband icon Col. Bruce Hampton was performing an encore at a concert celebrating his 70th birthday when he collapsed at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. ...
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Chuck Berry: (1926-2017)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Chuck Berry, a singing electric blues guitarist with a remarkably limber stage presence who pioneered rock 'n' roll and single-handedly put the saxophone out of business as a lead R&B instrument in 1955, died on March 18. He was 90. Berry's biography and his dynamic role in helping to hatch rock 'n' roll have been brightly traced in recent days in newspaper obituaries, so I'm not going to rehash all of it here. Largely missing from those life-ending portraits, however, ...
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Statement From Verve Label Group on the passing of Tommy LiPuma
Source:
All About Jazz
Tommy LiPuma had a long history with Universal Music Group (UMG), notably having served as both Chairman and subsequently, Chairman Emeritus of the Verve Music Group from 1998-2011—one of the many pinnacles in his esteemed career in the music industry. The Verve Label Group family is saddened by the loss of their dear friend and colleague, and sends their deepest condolences to the LiPuma family. “Tommy was a music man. He taught us all how to listen, how to live ...
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