Feb 18, 2021 10:21 AM
In Memoriam: Chick Corea
Chick Corea, one of the most beloved and decorated jazz artists in history, passed away Feb. 9. He was 79.
In a post…
Chick Corea (1941-2021)
Feb 18, 2021 10:21 AM
Chick Corea, one of the most beloved and decorated jazz artists in history, passed away Feb. 9. He was 79.
In a post…
Junior Mance (1928–2021)
Feb 1, 2021 3:27 PM
Junior Mance, who enjoyed a long career as a pianist and educator, has died at age 92.
As a leader, Mance recorded…
Cándido (1921–2020), shown performing in 2008
Dec 1, 2020 10:09 AM
Cándido Camero, an NEA Jazz Master who was regarded as the father of modern conga drumming, died Nov. 7 in New York.…
Drummer Viola Smith died Oct. 21 at the age of 107 in Costa Mesa, California.
Nov 16, 2020 9:38 AM
Viola Smith, a pioneering big band-era drummer known as the “fastest girl drummer in the world” who wielded…
Critic and author Stanley Crouch speaks at the 2012 NEA Jazz Masters ceremony.
Sep 28, 2020 9:43 AM
If we’re all still struggling to define what “jazz” is—or if it’s even necessary to land on an…
Gary Peacock (1935-2020)
Sep 22, 2020 10:27 AM
Bassist Gary Peacock, who performed and recorded alongside trailblazing bandleaders Albert Ayler, Keith Jarrett and…
Mark Colby (1949–2020)
Sep 1, 2020 10:15 PM
Saxophonist Mark Colby died Aug. 31 from complications related to cancer, according to an email sent to DownBeat from…
Drummer and jazz educator Charli Persip (1931–2020)
Aug 27, 2020 11:33 AM
Drummer Charli Persip, who enjoyed a long career as a drummer and jazz educator, died Aug. 23 at the age of 91,…
Jimmy Cobb (left), Joe Segal and former DownBeat editor Dan Morgenstern appear at a NEA Jazz Masters awards luncheon on April 20, 2015, in New York.
Aug 14, 2020 1:54 PM
Few impresarios spent as many decades maintaining a home for jazz as Chicago’s Joe Segal, who died Aug. 10 at the age…
Annie Ross (1930–2020)
Jul 27, 2020 8:54 AM
A brief but fruitful period defined the creative life of vocalist Annie Ross, who died July 21 from emphysema and heart…
Johnny Mandel (1925–2020)
Jul 1, 2020 12:01 PM
Songwriter Johnny Mandel, an Oscar and Grammy winner whose compositions included “The Shadow Of Your Smile” and…
Freddy Cole (1931–2020), seen here performing with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra
Jun 29, 2020 11:33 AM
Pianist and singer Freddy Cole—whose performance style frequently was compared to that of his older brother, DownBeat…
Keith Tippett (1947–2020)
Jun 18, 2020 2:51 PM
Pianist/keyboardist Keith Tippett, a titan of the British music scene who worked in jazz, progressive rock,…
Jimmy Cobb (1929–2020)
Dec 9, 2020 4:10 PM
Drummer Jimmy Cobb—famous for a discography that includes appearances on numerous Miles Davis albums, including…
Richie Cole (1948–2020)
May 21, 2020 1:22 PM
Richie Cole, a renowned saxophonist who was championed by DownBeat early in his career and whose passion for bebop-era…
Ellis Marsalis performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7, 2017.
Jun 3, 2020 3:19 PM
The following serves as a tribute to the musicians we have lost to the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 was a factor in…
Eddy Davis (1940–2020)
Apr 22, 2020 1:43 PM
Editor’s Note: Eddy Davis, a banjo player and bandleader who performed frequently with filmmaker/clarinetist Woody …
Henry Grimes (1935–2020)
May 1, 2020 1:36 AM
Philadelphia-born bassist Henry Grimes, revered for his work alongside jazz titans, died April 15 at the age of 84,…
Lee Konitz performs at the Blue Note in New York City on Oct. 9, 2017.
Apr 22, 2020 9:04 AM
Chicago-born alto saxophonist Lee Konitz passed away April 15 at the age of 92. WBGO confirmed his death, adding that…
Jymie Merritt (1926–2020)
Apr 18, 2020 10:05 AM
Jymie Merritt passed away on April 10, according to social media posts by his son, Mike Merritt. The Philadelphia-born…
Bassist Andy González, who died April 9, frequently worked with his brother, the trumpeter and percussionist Jerry González (1949–2018).
Apr 18, 2020 10:05 AM
Bassist Andy González, who was famous for the influential Latin-jazz recordings he made with the Fort Apache Band,…
John (left) and Bucky Pizzarelli (1926–2020)
Apr 2, 2020 4:25 PM
Acclaimed jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli died on April 1 at age 94. He had suffered health problems, and his son, the…
Ellis Marsalis (1934–2020)
Apr 7, 2020 8:54 AM
Pianist Ellis Marsalis, the head of a New Orleans family that significantly impacted how jazz is seen and heard…
Trumpeter Wallace Roney died Tuesday “due to complications of COVID-19,” according to his publicist.
Apr 13, 2020 1:32 PM
Trumpeter Wallace Roney—a stalwart of New York’s straightahead scene whose career put him in the path of legends…
Manu Dibango (1933–2020)
Mar 25, 2020 5:21 PM
Manu Dibango, the Cameroonian saxophonist who helped expand African music’s global reach by fusing it with jazz,…
Mike Longo (1939–20120)
Mar 27, 2020 8:49 AM
Pianist Mike Longo, best known for his long tenure with Dizzy Gillespie’s band, died on March 22 at Mount Sinai…
McCoy Tyner (1938–2020)
Mar 12, 2020 11:21 AM
A member of the classic John Coltrane quartet of the 1960s, as well as a powerful improviser and potent composer in his…
Jon Christensen (1943–2020)
Feb 28, 2020 8:10 AM
Jon Christensen, the Norwegian drummer who was the backbone for dozens of ECM releases and was widely considered a…
Jimmy Heath (1926–2020)
Feb 24, 2020 10:16 AM
Jimmy Heath, who died Jan. 19 in Loganville, Georgia, at age 93, was a master of multiple components of the jazz…
Claudio Roditi (1946–2020)
Mar 17, 2020 8:57 AM
Claudio Roditi played trumpet like he was riding the waves that endlessly lapped Ipanema Beach—gliding effortlessly…
Lyle Mays (1953– 2020)
Dec 9, 2020 3:54 PM
Lyle Mays, the keyboardist who spent a significant portion of his career recording and performing as a member of the…
Jimmy Heath (1926–2020)
Feb 24, 2020 10:16 AM
The jazz world suffered two huge losses recently. Trumpeter Claudio Roditi, who had been battling prostate cancer, died…
Before she staked her claim on the Central Avenue jazz scene in Los Angeles, trumpeter Clora Bryant was a featured soloist in the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
Feb 24, 2020 10:16 AM
Clora Bryant, a fiery trumpet player who broke gender barriers with her horn, swung with the Louis Armstrong and Dizzy…
Larry Willis (1942–2019)
Jun 11, 2020 3:53 PM
Larry Willis, a consummate pianist, composer and producer, died of an aneurysm on Sept. 29 at Baltimore’s Mercy…
Harold Mabern (1936–2019)
Feb 24, 2020 10:16 AM
In July 1975, 39-year-old Harold Mabern took the stage at Carnegie Hall during a solo piano night at the New York City…
Frank Caruso (1948–2019)
Feb 24, 2020 10:16 AM
Chicago-based pianist and educator Frank Caruso died suddenly on April 22 at a relative’s home in Cary, Illinois. He…
Cannonball Adderley (left), Ira Gitler and Dave Brubeck circa 1967
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
Ira Gitler, who claimed the title “jazz activist” for his multifaceted, seven-decade career and was named a…
Michel Legrand (1932-2019)
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
In the years following World War II, when forward-looking intellectuals in France and the United States were infatuated…
Joseph Jarman (1937–2019)
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
Multi-instrumentalist Joseph Jarman, best known as a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago from 1970 to 1993 and again…
Yvonne Ervin (1959–2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
Yvonne Ervin, founder of the Tucson Jazz Festival and a jazz advocate who held several posts with arts organizations…
Nancy Wilson (1937–2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
Jazz and r&b vocalist Nancy Wilson has died, according to a statement from her manager. Devra Hall Levy told the…
Eddie C. Campbell (1939–2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
Eddie C. Campbell, a blues vocalist and guitarist who toured the world, died Nov. 20 at his home in Oak Park, Illinois,…
Roy Hargrove (1969–2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove died on Nov. 2 in New York City, according to a statement released by his manager, Larry…
Otis Rush (1935–2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:18 AM
Guitarist and vocalist Otis Rush, long revered as a pioneer of Chicago’s blues scene, died on Sept. 29 at age 83.
…
Pianist Randy Weston (1926–2018) performs at the 2013 Chicago Jazz Festival.
Feb 24, 2020 10:18 AM
Tomasz Stańko (1942-2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:18 AM
Growing up in post-World War II Poland, trumpeter Tomasz Stańko’s first experienced jazz music as a kind of outsider…
Aretha Franklin (1942–2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:18 AM
She was the little girl who would be queen. Graced with a huge voice and even more powerful spirit, Aretha Franklin…
Eddy Clearwater (1935–2018)
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Blues vocalist and guitarist Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater died on June 1 in Skokie, Illinois. The cause was heart…
Cecil Taylor—shown here performing in Cologne, Germany, in 1987—died April 5. He was 89.
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Trumpeter Eddie Gale only made one album—the legendary 1966 Unit Structures on Blue Note—with pianist Cecil Taylor,…
Ndugu Chancler at the Jazz Education Network conference in San Diego on Jan. 16, 2015.
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Born in South Africa in 1939, Hugh Masekela spent 30 years living in exile, before returning in 1990. He lived there for the remainder of his life, maintaining a busy career.
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Hugh Masekela, a beloved multi-instrumentalist and activist from South Africa whose long career included a surprise pop…
Roswell Rudd
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Trombonist Roswell Rudd, who had been suffering from cancer, died Dec. 21. He was 82.
In tribute, DownBeat is…
Louis Prima (left) and Keely Smith
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Keely Smith, a vocalist who recorded throughout the 1950s and 1960s alongside Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra, died of…
NEA Jazz Masters David Baker (left), George Avakian, Candido Camero and Joe Wilder pose for a portrait at the 2010 NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony & Concert.
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
George Avakian, the Grammy-winning jazz producer and NEA Jazz Master who worked with some of the genre’s most…
Tommy LiPuma (1936–2017)
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
Tommy LiPuma, legendary record executive and producer, died March 13 in New York after a brief illness. He was 80 years…
Victor Bailey (1960–2016)
Feb 24, 2020 10:16 AM
It is with heavy hearts that DownBeat pays tribute to four superb artists who have recently left us.
Victor Bailey, a…
Naná Vasconcelos (1944–2016)
Feb 24, 2020 10:16 AM
Naná Vasconcelos, the acclaimed percussionist and master of the single-string berimbau, died March 9 from lung cancer…
