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Jeanne Arland Peterson, matriarch of Minnesota jazz, dies at 91
Her two daughters escorted the frail woman to the piano at Hopkins Center for the Arts. After she sat down and put her fingers on the keys, Jeanne Arland Peterson couldn’t have seemed more at home. Her timing was impeccable, her melodies ornate and her sense of rhythm swinging. For her swan-song performance on a cold ...
Sam Most, Johnny Smith...Gone
Risking the appearance of Rifftides becoming an obituary service, I must note the deaths in the past week of two supreme artists of the bebop era, flutist Sam Most and guitarist Johnny Smith. Each of them blazed trails on his instrument and was a major influence on generations of players who followed him. Sam Most From ...
Johnny Smith, Venerable Jazz Guitarist, Dies at 90
Johnny Smith, a jazz guitarist who was considered one of the emerging greats of his generation when he left the limelight in 1958 to move to Colorado, open a record store and become a full-time parent, died on June 11 at his home in Colorado Springs. He was 90. Mr. Smith was revered by guitarists for ...
Jean Bach, 1918-2013
The death this week in New York of Jean Bach at 94 spurred memories of her role in the jazz community going back to the early 1940s. Ms. Bach was not a musician but an advocate whose enthusiasm for and understanding of the art endeared her to several generations of musicians. Her knowledge of the music ...
Jazz Face: Mulgrew Miller, 1955-2013
I first encountered pianist Mulgrew Miller at a performance of the Contemporary Piano Ensemble at O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul, probably around 1993 given the ensemble's touring history and my limited memory. The ensemble was a unique collaboration of five jazz pianists ranging from a 20-something-year-old Geoffrey Keezer to veteran Harold Mabern, with Miller, James Williams ...
Jean Bach, Jazz Documentarian and Fan, Dies at 94
Jean Bach, a lifelong jazz zealot whose fascination with a photograph of the titans of jazz gathered in front of a Harlem brownstone in 1958 led her to make a prizewinning movie about that moment, “A Great Day in Harlem,” 36 years later, died on Monday at her home in Manhattan. She was 94. The photographer ...
Mulgrew Miller, Dynamic Jazz Pianist, Dies at 57
Mulgrew Miller, a jazz pianist whose soulful erudition, clarity of touch and rhythmic aplomb made him a fixture in the post-bop mainstream for more than 30 years, died on Wednesday in Allentown, Pa. He was 57. Mr. Miller developed his voice in the 1970s, combining the bright precision of bebop, as exemplified by Bud Powell and ...
Richie Havens: January 21, 1941 - April 22, 2013
Beloved folk icon Richie Havens died this morning in his home from a sudden heart attack. He was 72. Havens first became part of musical history during his impromptu opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Best known for his distinctive intense, rhythmic guitar style and soulful covers of pop and folk songs, Havens toured and ...
Memorial for Raymond Eldridge Jr. to be Held Monday, April 15
A memorial service and jam session honoring bassist Raymond Eldridge Jr. will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. this coming Monday, April 15 at Eddie Randle and Sons, 4600 Natural Bridge Rd. Eldridge died Tuesday, April 9 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 69. He had suffered a stroke on March 22, and had been ...
Melvin Rhyne (1936-2013)
Organist Melvin Rhyne—who died of lung cancer on March 5 at age 76 in his hometown of Indianapolis—is perhaps best known for the four spectacular Riverside albums he recorded with Wes Montgomery between 1960 and 1963. Thanks to Resonance Records, we also have recordings with Rhyne and Montgomery from Indianapolis circa 1957 or '58—just before producer ...
