The Artists We Lost in 2019

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From jazz pianists and r&b firebrands to avant-garde stalwarts, DownBeat offers a look back at some of the musicians, artists and writers we lost during 2019.

Ginger Baker (1939–2019)

Clora Bryant (1927–2019)

Frank Caruso (1948–2019)

Dr. John (1941–2019)

João Gilberto (1931–2019)

Ira Gitler (1928–2019)

Joseph Jarman (1937–2019)

Michel Legrand (1932–2019)

Harold Mabern (1936–2019)

Ken Nordine (1948–2019)

Larry Willis (1942–2019)



  • Roy_Haynes_by_Michael_Jackson_2012.jpg

    “I treat every day like it’s Thanksgiving,” said Roy Haynes.

  • Zakir_Hussain_2011_Symphony_Center_copy.jpg

    “Watching people like Max Roach or Elvin Jones and seeing how they utilize the whole drum kit in a very rhythmic and melodic way and how they stretched time — that was a huge inspiration to me,” Hussain said in DownBeat.

  • ART7087_Mike_Stern_by_Sandrine_Lee_72dpi_RGB_PR8391_copy.jpg

    “I love doing ballads,” Mike Stern says. “It’s just a part of me, some part of emotionally how I feel sometimes.”

  • Billy_Cobham_and_MJ_by_Alfie_Jackson_copy_2.jpg

    Jazz journalist Michael Jackson, left, dispenses a live Blindfold Test to drum master Billy Cobham.

  • KennedyCenter.jpg

    Queen Latifah extols Harlem and the Apollo Theater at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.


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