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Article: Big Band in the Sky

Adios, Chico

by Jack Bowers
June 29, 2001

This article first appeared on All About Jazz in June 2001. Big--band Jazz lost another of its brightest lights on June 27 when bandleader Chico O'Farrill, an early champion and tireless promoter of Afro--Cuban Jazz, died in Manhattan at age 79. O'Farrill's popularity had crested during the past half--dozen years ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Alan Greenspan, 1926–2026: The Reedman Who Conducted the Economy

by Kofi Adjepong-Boateng
June 26, 2026

He kept the clarinet. Sixty years after he last played for money, the central banker still had the instrument from his dance-band days; when a television crew trooped in, he turned it over in his hands but would not play it, remembering too well how it was supposed to sound. Alan Greenspan, who died ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Abdullah Ibrahim: 1934–2026

by Kofi Adjepong-Boateng
June 18, 2026

Abdullah Ibrahim , the South African pianist, composer and bandleader, died in Bavaria, Germany, on 15 June 2026. He was born Adolph Johannes Brand in Cape Town on 9 October 1934. Frail but undimmed, Ibrahim last performed on 27 March at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, in the city that made him.

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Remembering James Blood Ulmer: The Incognito Bluesman

by Ian Patterson
June 15, 2026

James Blood Ulmer, the pioneering electric guitarist and singer who first came to prominence in New York in the early '70s, has died at the age of 86. His extraordinarily visceral guitar style--ragged, choppy, spluttering yet deeply emotive--was instantly recognizable. Post-Jimi Hendrix, Ulmer was one of just a handful of guitarists to alter the language of ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Sonny Rollins Blows His Last At 95

by Ian Patterson
May 29, 2026

Sonny Rollins, the world-renowned tenor saxophonist who lit up the jazz world for nearly seven decades, has died at the age of 95. Hailed in many quarters as the greatest improvising musician in jazz, his passing feels like the end of an era. In a career that began in the 1940s, Rollins played with ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Remembering Marilyn Mazur: Percussion Shaman

by Ian Patterson
January 26, 2026

Marilyn Mazur, the trailblazing Danish drummer, percussionist, composer and bandleader, who enjoyed an extraordinarily varied career, has died at the age of 70. In over fifty years working in jazz and improvised music, Mazur collaborated with Alex Riel, Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans, Charlie Mariano, Jon Balke, Dhafer Youssef, and Jan Garbarek, amongst many others. She holds ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Remembering Jack DeJohnette: Unlimited Imagination

by Ian Patterson
October 30, 2025

It is with sadness that All About jazz must report the passing of NEA Jazz Master Jack DeJohnette--one of the most respected and influential of modern jazz drummers. He died of congestive heart failure on October 26, 2025. He was 83. DeJohnette belongs in the pantheon of great jazz drummers. If there were a ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Remembering Hermeto Pascoal: The Sorcerer's Spell

by Ian Patterson
September 16, 2025

Hermeto Pascoal, the one-of-a-kind Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer, has gone to the great gig in the sky. Known affectionately as Bruxo (Sorcerer), Pascoal passed away on September 13, 2025. He was 89. Few musicians have traversed as many styles of Brazilian music as Pascoal. His first commercial recording, in 1956, was with Clóvis Pereira--the ...

Article: Big Band in the Sky

Remembering Susan Alcorn: Bucking The Trends

by Ian Patterson
February 5, 2025

All About Jazz is saddened to learn of the passing of Susan Alcorn--pedal steel guitarist extraordinaire. She died on January 31st of natural causes. Perhaps more than any other pedal steel guitarist before her, Alcorn took her instrument into musical terrain not usually associated with it. She played country music for twenty years, but ...

Article: In Tribute To...

Remembering All About Jazz's Chris May

by AAJ Staff
November 26, 2024

With profound sadness, the All About Jazz family mourns the loss of Chris May (1946-2024), a luminous soul whose passion and dedication took AAJ to new heights during his 20 year tenure. Chris was more than a colleague--he was a beloved writer, a brilliant editor, and a cherished friend whose words dazzled with grace and insight. ...