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Johnny Smith, Venerable Jazz Guitarist, Dies at 90
Source:
Michael Ricci
Johnny Smith, a jazz guitarist who was considered one of the emerging greats of his generation when he left the limelight in 1958 to move to Colorado, open a record store and become a full-time parent, died on June 11 at his home in Colorado Springs. He was 90. Mr. Smith was revered by guitarists for his pure tone and flawless technique, which gave his most complex improvisations an effortless, almost weightless quality. His dreamy rendition of “Moonlight in Vermont,” ...
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Sam Most, Johnny Smith...Gone
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Risking the appearance of Rifftides becoming an obituary service, I must note the deaths in the past week of two supreme artists of the bebop era, flutist Sam Most and guitarist Johnny Smith. Each of them blazed trails on his instrument and was a major influence on generations of players who followed him. Sam Most From the notes I wrote for Most’s 1976 Xanadu album Mostly Flute (Out of print, sadly. Copies are being sold for exorbitant prices on the ...
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Jean Bach, 1918-2013
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
The death this week in New York of Jean Bach at 94 spurred memories of her role in the jazz community going back to the early 1940s. Ms. Bach was not a musician but an advocate whose enthusiasm for and understanding of the art endeared her to several generations of musicians. Her knowledge of the music and its creators made her unusual among other society figures who sometimes amused themselves by dabbling in the jazz scene. She was known for ...
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Jean Bach, Jazz Documentarian and Fan, Dies at 94
Source:
Michael Ricci
Jean Bach, a lifelong jazz zealot whose fascination with a photograph of the titans of jazz gathered in front of a Harlem brownstone in 1958 led her to make a prizewinning movie about that moment, “A Great Day in Harlem,” 36 years later, died on Monday at her home in Manhattan. She was 94. The photographer Carol Friedman, a friend, announced the death. A print of that black-and-white photograph—one of the most famous in jazz history—had for years hung in ...
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Jazz Face: Mulgrew Miller, 1955-2013
Source:
JazzINK by Andrea Canter
I first encountered pianist Mulgrew Miller at a performance of the Contemporary Piano Ensemble at O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul, probably around 1993 given the ensemble's touring history and my limited memory. The ensemble was a unique collaboration of five jazz pianists ranging from a 20-something-year-old Geoffrey Keezer to veteran Harold Mabern, with Miller, James Williams and Donald Brown holding the “mid-career" chairs as performances featured four pianos going at any given moment, the pianists playing “musical piano benches." Their ...
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Mulgrew Miller, Dynamic Jazz Pianist, Dies at 57
Source:
Michael Ricci
Mulgrew Miller, a jazz pianist whose soulful erudition, clarity of touch and rhythmic aplomb made him a fixture in the post-bop mainstream for more than 30 years, died on Wednesday in Allentown, Pa. He was 57. Mr. Miller developed his voice in the 1970s, combining the bright precision of bebop, as exemplified by Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson, with the clattering intrigue of modal jazz, especially as defined by McCoy Tyner. His balanced but assertive style was a model of ...
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Richie Havens: January 21, 1941 - April 22, 2013
Source:
Michael Ricci
Beloved folk icon Richie Havens died this morning in his home from a sudden heart attack. He was 72. Havens first became part of musical history during his impromptu opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Best known for his distinctive intense, rhythmic guitar style and soulful covers of pop and folk songs, Havens toured and recorded music for over 40 years before retiring from the road 3 years ago. Beyond his music, those who have met Havens will remember ...
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Memorial for Raymond Eldridge Jr. to be Held Monday, April 15
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
A memorial service and jam session honoring bassist Raymond Eldridge Jr. will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. this coming Monday, April 15 at Eddie Randle and Sons, 4600 Natural Bridge Rd. Eldridge died Tuesday, April 9 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 69. He had suffered a stroke on March 22, and had been in the ICU at Barnes-Jewish since then. His wife Alverne Eldridge told StLJN that prior to the stroke, he had survived a number of ...
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