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McCoy Tyner (1938-2020)
McCoy Tyner, whose hypnotically churning and thunderous piano behind John Coltrane's saxophone in the 1960s, starting with My Favorite Things in 1961, altered the evolution of the jazz keyboard, died on March 6. He was 81. Tyner's stampede-like approach and vast use of modal scales created a new approach on the jazz piano, breaking with the ...
Jimmy Heath And Claudio Roditi Are Gone
The last thing any of us at Rifftides wants is for our endeavor to become an obituary service. Life goes on, however, as does its opposite. So we continue to note the passing of musicians who have enriched listeners around the world. Recently, we lost American saxophonist, bandleader and composer Jimmy Heath and Brazil’s Claudio Roditi, ...
Jimmy Heath (1926-2020)
Jimmy Heath, a tenor saxophonist with exceptional gifts as a composer, arranger and player who spent critical years of the 1950s in prison for the sale of drugs but rebuilt his career in the 1960s and beyond, died on January 19. He was 93. Nicknamed “Little Bird" for his Parker-like fluidity when he played alto saxophone ...
Jack Sheldon (1931-2019)
Jack Sheldon, a West Coast jazz trumpeter who, in the 1960s, as jazz recording opportunities dried up, began to diversify into film studio work, TV acting, comedy, singing and a regular vocal part on the children's animated series School of Rock, died on December 27. He was 88. Sheldon was most notable for his clean, round ...
Jack Sheldon, 1931-2019
It is sad to report that the great trumpeter Jack Sheldon has died at the age of 88. Sheldon sang with spirit, style, phrasing and good humor that paralleled his trumpet playing. This video is from his 1984 appearance at Lulu White’s Mahogany Hall in the New Orleans French Quarter. The other members of his band ...
In Memoriam: Jazz Musicians Who Passed in 2019
by Maxim Micheliov
In Memoriam: Jazz Musicians Who Passed in 2019 As 2019 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to remember the extraordinarily gifted musicians who made an indelible mark on jazz. With sadness, we bid farewell to Joao Gilberto, Doris Day, Andre Previn, Michel Legrand, Ginger Baker, Steve Dalachinsky, Jacques Loussier, Joseph ...
Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum 1928 - 2019
Hugh “Peanuts" Whalum, a pianist, singer, and tenor saxophonist who was part of the St. Louis music scene from the late 1940s into the 21st century, has died. He was 91 years old. News of Whalum's passing on Christmas day spread on social media via Facebook posts from Jeff Anderson, who played bass with Whalum for ...
Harold Mabern: 1936-2019
Harold Mabern, a pianist who came relatively late to prominence but quickly carved out space as a hard-bop and soul-jazz legend, died September 17. He was 83. Born in Memphis, Tenn., Mabern was self-taught and came under the sway of local jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. In 1954 he moved to Chicago, where he began recording ...
Cousin Mary: Keeper of the Coltrane Legacy (1927-2019)
Mary Lyerly Alexander was born July 23, 1927 to Bettie Blair Lyerly and Goler Lyerly in High Point, North Carolina. An only child, Mary and her parents lived as an extended family with her first cousin, saxophonist John W. Coltrane, his parents and their maternal grandparents. Her grandfather, Rev. William Wilson Blair, an activist who was ...
Bob Wilber, RIP
We have learned that the superlative clarinetist and soprano saxophonist Bob Wilber died at his home in England earlier this month. He was 91. Wilber studied with the New Orleans reed pioneer Sidney Bechet and spent decades extending the Bechet legacy. Unusual among those who specialize in traditional music, Wilber also became adept in the bebop ...
