Results for "Obituary"

George Shearing dies at 91

February 14, 2011

NEW YORK—Sir George Shearing, the ebullient jazz pianist who wrote the standard “Lullaby of Birdland" and had a string of hits both with and without his quintet, has died. He was 91. Shearing, blind since birth, died early Monday morning in Manhattan of congestive heart failure, his longtime manager Dale Sheets said. “He was a totally ...

Allen Smith RIP

February 12, 2011

From San Francisco comes word that trumpeter Allen Smith died last week at the age of 85. Smith's musical career got underway at the same time as those of his San Francisco State College classmates Paul Desmond and Cal Tjader. He worked with both in various bands and with other Bay Area jazz mainstays, including guitarist ...

Gary Moore (1952-2011): An Appreciation

February 8, 2011

By Something Else Reviews Gary Moore, former guitarist with Thin Lizzy and Skid Row, has died at age 58. The Belfast-born Moore, perhaps most famous for his 1979 hit “Parisienne Walkways" with the late Phil Lynott, was found dead in a hotel room Sunday while vacationing at the Costa del Sol, Spain. The cause of death ...

John Barry - R.I.P.

February 1, 2011

The film world lost one of its greatest composers with the death of John Barry, who died yesterday in New York at age 77. Barry, who had long lived in New York, is said to have died of a heart attack. But official details have not yet been released. John Barry, born November 3, 1933, in ...

Dr. Billy Taylor's Memorial Service in NYC - Video

January 23, 2011

Any thought that the Harlem memorial service for Dr. Billy Taylor would be a somber, mournful affair was dispelled after the opening prayers at Riverside Church of New York. First, Reverend Calvin O. Butts (from the nearby Abyssinian Baptist Church) delivered the evening's gathering prayer; then, he said, “One of the ...

Correspondence (Illustrated): RIP Margaret Whiting

January 14, 2011

Rifftides reader Mark Stryker sent this reaction to the previous entry. Mr. Stryker is the music critic of The Detroit Free Press. He has good ears.Just a coda re: “Moonlight in Vermont," whose unusual lyrics were written by John Blackburn. The A section words are actually in the form of a haiku, with 5-7-5 syllable pattern. ...

Margaret Whiting

January 13, 2011

News of Margaret Whiting's death at 86 on Monday must have sent her fans to the shelves in search of her recording of “Moonlight in Vermont." She recorded the song in 1943 when she was 19. It helped make her a star, and she stayed on the charts well into the 1960s, surviving even as rock ...

Gerry Rafferty (1947-2011): An Appreciation

January 8, 2011

Editor's note: Here's a repost of our review of 1978's City to City By Gerry Rafferty, who died today in London from liver failure after a lengthy battle with alcoholism. Rafferty scored Top 10 hits first with Stealers Wheel ("Stuck in the Middle") and then with his own “Baker Street" from this recording.City to City sold ...

Gerry Rafferty (1947-2010): An Appreciation

January 5, 2011

Editor's note: Here's a repost of our review of 1978's City to City By Gerry Rafferty, who died today in London from liver failure after a lengthy battle with alcoholism. Rafferty scored Top 10 hits first with Stealers Wheel ("Stuck in the Middle") and then with his own “Baker Street" from this recording.City to City sold ...

Bassist Charles Fambrough -- Rest in Peace

January 4, 2011