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John Blake, Jr., RIP
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
From Philadelphia comes news of the death of John Blake, Jr., a violinist who combined his classical training, love for the African-American musical tradition and sense of adventure to become prominent on the forward edge of jazz in the 1970s. Blake was 67. He made his mark recording with tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp and soon won the Violinist Deserving Wider Recognition category in the Down Beat Critics Poll. His fame widened when he toured with Grover Washington, Jr’s band and ...
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Kenny Drew Jr. (1958-2014)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Kenny Drew Jr., son of hard bop pianist Kenny Drew and an impeccable jazz pianist in his own right who could play with dashing swing, breathtaking control and lush romanticism, died on August 3. He was 56. Drew, whose very name placed him in the shadow of his father and who died one day before his father passed away in August 1993, focused initially on classical and then pop before he began recording jazz in the late 1980s. Sitting at ...
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Idris Muhammad, legendary New Orleans drummer, is dead at 74
Source:
Michael Ricci
Idris Muhammad, whose drumming crossed over several musical styles including funk, jazz, and rhythm and blues, died Tuesday (July 29). He was 74. Muhammad's death was confirmed by close friend Dan Williams, who got to know Muhammad through Williams' Jazz Journey concert series sponsored by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Williams learned of Muhammad's death through family members in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A converted Muslim, Muhammad was immediately buried in accordance with the traditions of Islam, Williams said. ...
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Pete Douglas, Founder of Half Moon Bay’s Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society Dies at 85
Source:
Michael Ricci
Legendary Impresario was Inspiration to Local and National Musicians, and Presenters Half Moon Bay, CA: Pete Douglas, founder of the world-renowned music and jazz club, the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay, Calif., died peacefully in Miramar Beach on July 12, 2014 at age 85. Pete Douglas was born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1929. He and his family moved to the Los Angeles area in the 1940s after his father died, and his teenage years were spent ...
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Blues legend Johnny Winter dies in Switzerland
Source:
Michael Ricci
Guitarist, singer and music producer Johnny Winter has died at age 70. Winter rose to fame in the late 1960s and '70s with his performances and recordings that included producing his childhood hero Muddy Waters. “I love blues. I don't mind a little rock and roll, too, as long as it's blues-based rock and roll," he told Guitar World in 2010. He was the older brother of Edgar Winter — also a music legend. Winter's representative, Carla Parisi, confirmed Thursday ...
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Farewell, Charlie...
Source:
Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
It's been a rainy day here in Florida, and such weather gave me a grand opportunity to revisit some of my favorite music by bassist, bandleader and NEA Jazz Master Charlie Haden, who left us last week at age 76 after a prolonged illness. My clear favorites among the extensive Haden discography include two of his duet projects (Steal Away with pianist Hank Jones and Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories) with guitarist Pat Metheny), any of his eight recordings ...
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Charlie Haden (1937-2014)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
I first learned that jazz bassist Charlie Haden had died on Saturday by email while in Boston on assignment. The next email on my phone was from The Wall Street Journal in New York asking if I would be able to turn around an appreciation of Haden for Tuesday's paper. So I headed back to the hotel and spent the few hours writing and calling Denny Zeitlin and Geri Allen, two of my favorite pianists who played and recorded with ...
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Pete Douglas: 1929 - 2014
Source:
Bill Leikam
Prentice “Pete" Douglas , founder of the legendary Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society and owner of the Douglas Beach House in Half Moon Bay California passed yesterday, July 12th. He was 85. For more than 50 years Douglas brought to the Bach some of the finest jazz musicians ever to grace any jazz stage in the world like Shirley Horn, Horace Silver, Michel Petrucciani, Woody Herman, Zoot Sims, Shelly Mann and so many more in recent times. Douglas was proud ...
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