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Cedar Walton, 1934-2013
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Cedar Walton died this morning at his home in Brooklyn at the age of 79. Family members confirmed his passing but have not announced the cause of death. A pianist admired for his adaptability and thorough musicianship, Walton wrote tunes that became jazz standards, among them “Firm Roots," “Bolivia," “Ugetsu," “Midnight Waltz" and “Something in [...]Cedar Walton died this morning at his home in Brooklyn at the age of 79. Family members confirmed his passing but have not announced the ...
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Eydie Gorme (1928-2013)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
The late Eydie Gorme was the first female pop vocalist to understand television's subliminal seductive powers. Just as Judy Garland had played coy with the movie camera to win a nation's heart, Gorme understood that her path to success ran through the after-dinner sofa set. She was impossibly talented—swinging a big clear, brassy voice that in pre-TV years would have gotten her only as far as Broadway. She also was beautiful, in a different sort of way. She wasn't a ...
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George Duke, jazz/funk keyboardist who collaborated with Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson and Miles Davis, dead at 67
Source:
Michael Ricci
Master musician bridged genres of jazz, R&B, funk and Brazilian music; Was sampled by likes of Daft Punk and Kanye West. George Duke, the master keyboardist who bridged the worlds of jazz, R&B, funk, and Brazilian music, died Monday at St John’s Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 67. No cause was given. Duke’s passing comes just over a year after the death of his wife, Corine, from cancer last July. The keyboardist dedicated his just-released album, DreamWeaver, to her ...
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Jazz icon George Duke dies at 67
Source:
Michael Ricci
He pioneered the funk and R&B genres during his career of more than four decades. Jazz musician George Duke died Monday in Los Angeles at age 67. A pioneer in the funk and R&B genres, he had been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to his label Concord Music Group, which confirmed his death. “The outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father's friends, fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming," said his son, Rashid ...
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New England Conservatory Mourns Death Of Faculty Member Laurie Frink
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
New England Conservatory is mourning the death of faculty member Laurie Frink, a renowned trumpeter and educator. Frink died at her home in Manhattan on July 13 at age 61. “One of the leading brass pedagogues of our time, Laurie Frink will be sorely missed, as a teacher, as a player and as a friend,” said Ken Schaphorst, Chair of NEC’s Jazz Studies Department. “I noticed immediate improvement in the playing of every NEC student who worked with her. She ...
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Billy Root (1934-2013)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Billy Root, a tenor and baritone saxophonist in several major big bands and small jazz groups in the 1950s and 1960s before he relocated to Las Vegas in 1968 just as the city was becoming a pop and rock entertainment capital, died July 30. He was 79. Billy was born in Philadelphia and his father was a drummer who took him to see Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford and other bands in the '40s. Billy began playing tenor sax ...
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Writer of hits JJ Cale dead at 74, official website says
Source:
Michael Ricci
(CNN) — Musician JJ Cale, whose songs “Cocaine" and “After Midnight" were made famous by Eric Clapton, died Friday after suffering a heart attack, his official website and his management agency's website announced. His contemporaries considered him a legend, even if many fans weren't familiar with his name. He was 74. CNN's calls Saturday to Cale's representatives, the medical examiner's officer in San Diego County and Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla were not immediately returned. Lynyrd Skynyrd made Cale's ...
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Two Losses, One Gain
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
This week, jazz lost two artists who made substantial contributions to the music. The vibraharpist Peter Appleyard was one of Canada’s best known jazz musicians. Laurie Frink was a New York jazz community insider, honored as a masterly lead trumpeter, revered as a teacher. Born in England in 1928, Appleyard moved to Canada in his early twenties, established himself in Toronto’s jazz community and became a popular figure on Canadian television. He toured for nearly a decade as a featured ...
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