Home » Jazz News

Obituary News

Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, concert series, special events, job postings, crowdfunding campaigns and more. You can find more news by searching our website, viewing our news stream, seeing what's trending or reading our blog posts. Subscribe to our news RSS feed and/or embed AAJ news content on your website or blog. Learn about our news service here. Submit news here.

Obituary

Canadian Jazz Guitarist Jim Kilburn Departs at 94

Source: All About Jazz
November 23, 2021

Born October 3, 1927, Canadian jazz guitarist Jim Kilburn passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 13, 2021, at 10:50 am at the age of 94 at his Qualicum, BC, Vancouver Island home. A cast member of the short documentary film, In the Zone: Rick Kilburn, the jazz guitarist had peaked at 11.2 million internet hits on the movie website IMDB Pro in October 2021. A husband, father, music mentor, writer of fly-fishing and entomology, master fly-tier, illustrator, cartoonist, electrical technician, ...

Continue Reading...

Obituary

Pat Martino (1944-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 2, 2021

Pat Martino, a hard-swinging jazz guitarist whose singular soul-jazz feel elevated his visibility in 1970s only to suffer a health crisis that forced him to relearn the instrument with miraculous results, died on Nov. 1. He was 77. Martino's recording career began in 1963 under his real name, Pat Azzara. He started as a sideman on Willis Jackson's Gravy album. Recording for Prestige, Martino was swept up into the label's distinct soul-jazz sound that would distinguish its recordings into the ...

Continue Reading...

Obituary

Dave Brubeck and Mort Sahl

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 1, 2021

Mort Sahl, a Canadian-born American comedian who helped pioneer socio-political satire in the 1950s and '60s, died on October 26. He was 94. For a brief moment in 1958, he hosted a pilot for a local San Franciso TV jazz show called Jam Session. He wasn't the show's planned host but he agreed to sit in. And why not? The group featured live at the Black Hawk was the Dave Brubeck Quartet. What's special about the following clip is the ...

Continue Reading...

Obituary

Ginny Mancini (1924-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 28, 2021

Ginny Mancini, the wife of the late composer-arranger Henry Mancini, a polished singer who was one of the original Mel-Tones, and an elegant and graceful woman who was as down to earth as she was charming, died on October 25. She was 97. An ardent JazzWax reader, Ginny's last email to me arrived in May, in response to my post on Brazilian singer Elis Regina: “Dear Marc, I fell in love with Elise when we were in Rio in 1964 ...

Continue Reading...

Obituary

Franco Cerri (1926-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 20, 2021

Franco Cerri, one of the world's finest jazz guitarists whose records and reputation have escaped most American jazz aficionados due to his desire to spend his career in Italy, died on October 18. He was 95. Ruggedly handsome with a joyous sense of swing and impeccable taste, Cerri (pronounced “Cherry") made nearly all of his recordings in Milan, starting in 1945. Touring American jazz stars knew him well and that he could play bass as proficiently as the guitar. Over ...

Continue Reading...

Obituary

Dr. Lonnie Smith (1942-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 5, 2021

Lonnie Smith, who added a Dr. in front of his name to differentiate himself from organist Lonnie Liston Smith and whose funk-driven organ in the 1960s was a key ingredient in many different soul-jazz combos, died on September 28. He was 79. In addition to his invented moniker, Lonnie's turban, by his own admission, had no religious significance. For him, the name and the look was akin to an artistic statement or character that let him step out of himself. ...

Continue Reading...

Obituary

George Wein (1925-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 14, 2021

George Wein, who launched the outdoor pop-music festival business in 1954 and helped transform jazz from adult music heard in smokey, subterranean clubs to high art staged under the sun and stars for people of all ages on par with classical music, died on Sept. 13. He was 95. Though George considered himself a pragmatic, regular guy, everything that came out of his mouth was intelligent, thought through and kind. His passion for jazz artists and his ability to reason ...

Continue Reading...

Obituary

Phil Schaap (1951-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 9, 2021

Phil Schaap, a jazz know-it-all, nudnik and tireless fact finder who put all of those skills to work to become one of radio's finest and most passionate jazz authorities, detectives and educators, died on September 7. He was 70. [Photo above of Phil Schaap at WKCR in 1991 by John Abbott, courtesy of John Abbott] Phil was best known in the New York City area for his daily weekday Bird Flight shows that came on before you woke up and ...

Continue Reading...