Obituary News

Hank Jones, World-Class Jazz Pianist and Marily Monroe Accompaniest, Dies at Age 91

Source: Michael Ricci
May 17, 2010

World-class jazz pianist Hank Jones, who is perhaps best known for a two-minute gig accompanying Marilyn Monroe when she sang “Happy Birthday" to JFK at Madison Square Garden in 1962, has died. Jones, who was 91, moved to New York in 1943 and played with almost every major jazz musician while touring and recording until his death. He played piano and conducted for the 1970s musical “Ain't Misbehavin'," in which he replicated Fats Waller's stride piano. Born in Mississippi to ...

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Jazz Pianist Hank Jones Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
May 17, 2010

The legendary pianist Hank Jones, 91, an eloquent and lyrical soloist and accompanist to every major name in jazz since the 1940s, died May 16 in New York City. Mr. Jones was known for his light touch and his embrace of bebop's fast pace and complex phrasing. He played “as though he were plucking the piano's strings instead of striking its keys, and his gracefully restrained single-note style are a reformulation of their aesthetic in modern jazz.," wrote David Rosenthal ...

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Craig Kauffman Artist Captured the Ethos of Los Angeles

Source: Michael Ricci
May 17, 2010

His bubble-like plastic wall pieces reflected Southern California's sunshine and car culture. He made his mark early, as part of the original stable of artists at Ferus Gallery, an avant-garde showcase on La Cienega Boulevard. Artist Craig Kauffman, a sparkplug of Los Angeles' art scene in the late 1950s and early '60s who captured national attention with bubble-like plastic wall pieces that reflect Southern California's sunshine and car culture, died Sunday at his home in the Philippines. He was 78. ...

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Tribute for Percussionist Francisco Aguabella

Source: All About Jazz
May 17, 2010

A concert Saturday in New York was dedicated to the memory of Afro-Cuban percussionist Francisco Aguabella, who died earlier this month in Los Angeles.

“They need him Up There to keep the rumba going," Papo Pepn told the New York Daily News in advance of Saturday's “The Conga Kings" concert at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

Aguabella played with a variety of artists including Tito Puente, Peggy Lee and Dizzy Gillespie, and was a sacred drummer ...

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Remembering Hank Jones

Source: Michael Ricci
May 17, 2010

Hank Jones Biography Henry “Hank" Jones (born July 31, 1918; died May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored Hank Jones with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded ...

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Ronnie James Dio Heavy Metal Rocker Played with Black Sabbath Dies

Source: All About Jazz
May 17, 2010

Ronnie James Dio, whose soaring vocals, poetic lyrics and mythic tales of a never-ending struggle between good and evil broke new ground in heavy metal, died Sunday, according to a statement from his wife and manager. He was 67. Dio revealed last summer that he was suffering from stomach cancer shortly after wrapping up a tour in Atlantic City, N.J. with the latest incarnation of Black Sabbath, under the name Heaven And Hell. “Today my heart is broken, Wendy Dio ...

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Twenty Years Later, Remembering Jim Henson

Source: All About Jazz
May 17, 2010

Its been twenty years since the world lost Jim Henson, and I still cant think about it without tearing up a bit.

His death at age 53 was sudden and catastrophic, like being hit by lightning on a cloudless day. Along with countless others around the world who had never met him, I felt like a close friend was gone. Five of my fellow GeekDads and I have put together this article as a tribute to his memory. On the ...

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Rob McConnell Dies at 75; Valve Trombonist Who Led the Boss Brass

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2010

He led one of Canada's best-known big bands and won three Grammys, one as an artist for the album 'All in Good Time,' was known as one of the few modern masters of the valve trombone.

Rob McConnell, a celebrated composer, arranger and valve trombonist who led the Boss Brass, one of Canada's best and best-known big bands, has died. He was 75. McConnell, a three-time Grammy winner, died May 1 at a Toronto hospital, his family announced. He had ...

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