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Obituary

Alex Steinweiss (1917-2011)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 21, 2011

For those who grew up in the LP era, the jazz album cover had special meaning. Back when record stores dotted the urban and suburban landscape, you could spend hours flipping through the cardboard squares admiring the cover artwork before flipping them over to read the liner notes. The cover was always the big thrill, the juicer that led to the purchase. One of the earliest pioneers of the art-marketing genre was Alex Steinweiss, who died on July 17 at ...

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Obituary

Bob Flanigan

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
June 23, 2011

More than one Rifftides reader has taken me to task for posting nothing about the death of Bob Flanigan, the original lead singer of the vocal-instrumental group The Four Freshmen. Flanigan died on May 15 at his home in Las Vegas. He was 84. As if to validate the group, many of his obituaries dwelled on Flanigan's and the Freshmens' influence on the Beach Boys and other pop performers of the '60s and '70s. The Freshmen validated themselves through excellence ...

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Obituary

R.I.P. Clarence Clemons

Source: JamBase
June 21, 2011

THE BIG MAN IS GONE On the cover of 1975's Born To Run, it is saxophonist Clarence Clemons that Bruce Springsteen leans on, the pair caught in a moment of laughing camaraderie. For decades, Clarence was the rock, at least subtly & psychologically, the entire E Street Band set their foot upon, a presence as much spiritual as it was musical, a rock 'n' roll shaman for one of the genre's great tribes. Clemons suffered a massive stroke on June ...

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Obituary

Clarence Clemons, 1942-2011...

Source: Digital Music News
June 20, 2011

A cornerstone of the E Street Band has now passed away. Saxophonist Clarence Clemons died Saturday evening at 69, just days after suffering a serious stroke. Shortly after news of the death, Bruce Springsteen offered this statement. “Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. ...

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Obituary

Clarence Clemons (1942-2011): An Appreciation

Source: Something Else!
June 20, 2011

ate last night, I saw the email light blinking on my phone. A single new message had come in from one of my writer cohorts. The subject line read “Blood Brothers" ... and I knew. By the time you read this, thousands of obits will have already been published. The Clarence Clemons' story is well known and will not be repeated here. Instead, let's talk about how people change the world. On Friday, I wanted a little dream sequence to ...

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Obituary

More About Mae

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
June 18, 2011

Following up on the death of the iconic singer Mae Wheeler, yesterday I talked with people who knew and worked with her for another article that's now up on the Riverfront Times website. Check it out! Update—More coverage from around town of Wheeler's passing: The Post-Dispatch's Kevin Johnson recalled the first time he met Wheeler, and reposted the story that resulted from that encounter. He followed up with a more detailed story/obituary, including comments from family members and Wheeler's musical ...

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Obituary

Mae Wheeler 1934 - 2011

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
June 16, 2011

Singer Mae Wheeler (pictured), known to generations of St. Louis music fans as “Lady Jazz," died this evening at her home in Maryland Heights after a long illness. She was 77. Wheeler, known for her charity fundraising efforts as well as for a musical career that spanned six decades, had been battling colon cancer since 2006, and was diagnosed two years ago with leukemia. Her doctors had sent her home from the hospital last month, saying that further treatment would ...

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Obituary

Ray Bryant, 1931-2011

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
June 5, 2011

Ray Bryant died on Thursday in a New York hospital following a long illness. He was 79. A pillar of modern mainstream piano, Bryant was often categorized as a blues pianist. He was certainly that, a great one, but his stylistic breadth,powerful swing and harmonic flexibility put him in demand not only by blues singers and players but also by the most sophisticated modern jazz artists from the 1950s on. A list of a few of his colleagues and employers ...

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