Artists We Lost in 2018

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From jazz trumpeters and blues guitarists to genre-defining soul singers and avant-garde soothsayers, DownBeat presents a look back at some of the talented performers who passed away during 2018. DB

Eddie C. Campbell (1939–2018)

Ndugu Chancler (1952-2018)

Eddy Clearwater (1935-2018)

Bob Dorough (1923–2018)

Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)

Roy Hargrove (1969–2018)

Hugh Masekela (1939-2018)

Randy Weston (1926-2018)

Nancy Wilson (1937–2018)

Otis Rush (1935-2018)

Tomasz Stańko (1942-2018)

Cecil Taylor (1929-2018)



  • Rodney_Holmes_Courtesy_Meinl.jpg

    A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.

  • DB26_Critics_Poll_Montage.jpg

    Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.

  • Abdhullah_Ibrahim_Detroit_Jazz_Festival_2022_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”

  • Poncho.jpeg

    ​Percussionist Poncho Sanchez was among the artists scheduled to perform at the now-canceled inaugural LA Jazz Festival.

  • DB26_Joe_Lovano_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.


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