Bob Popescu, 77; co-owner of Catalina Bar & Grill, turned the Los Angeles club into one of the top jazz venues in the country (Jan. 5)
Ken Nelson, 84; longtime Capitol Records talent scout had an ear for country music (Jan. 6)
Lew Spence, 87; composed “Nice 'n' Easy," the Grammy-nominated Frank Sinatra song (Jan. 9)
Pete Candoli, 84; leading high-register jazz trumpet player (Jan. 11)
John Stewart, 68; singer-songwriter who wrote the Monkees hit “Daydream Believer," was part of the Kingston Trio and had a significant solo career (Jan. 19)
Andy Palacio, 47; singer and guitarist who championed the language and culture of the Garifuna people of Belize (Jan. 19)
Teo Macero, 82; a producer of jazz albums for Miles Davis and other leading artists in the 1960s and '70s (Feb. 19)
“Aunty" Genoa Leilani Keawe, 89; falsetto-voiced singer and icon of traditional Hawaiian music (Feb. 25)
Buddy Miles, 60; rock and R&B drummer and singer whose eclectic career included stints working as a sideman for Jimi Hendrix (Feb. 26)
Raymond Kane, 82; a Hawaiian slack key guitar master (Feb. 27)
Mike Smith, 64; lead singer and keyboard player in the Dave Clark Five (Feb. 28)
Jeff Healey, 41; rock and jazz guitarist with the platinum- selling 1988 album “See the Light" (March 2)
Gloria Shayne Baker, 84; co-wrote the modern-day Christmas classic “Do You Hear What I Hear?" (March 6)
Judy Frankel, 65; singer recorded centuries-old Sephardic songs (March 20)
Israel “Cachao" Lopez, 89; Cuban bassist and composer credited with pioneering the mambo style of music (March 22)
William F. Ludwig II, 91; son of the founder of Ludwig Drum Co. who built a special kit for the Beatles' Ringo Starr (March 22)
Neil Aspinall, 66; Beatles road manager and head of Apple Corps for 40 years (March 23)
Gene Puerling, 78; leader of the innovative vocal quartet the Hi-Lo's and a noted vocal arranger whose work influenced the sound of other groups, including the Beach Boys (March 25)
Cedella Booker, 81; mother of Bob Marley who wrote two biographies of him and recorded two albums (April 8)
