Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Vocalist Sheila Jordan Dies at 96
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
Keith Tippett (1947–2020)
(Photo: Facebook)Pianist/keyboardist Keith Tippett, a titan of the British music scene who worked in jazz, progressive rock, experimental and classical music, has died from undisclosed causes, according to The Guardian. He was 72.
A June 14 post on his Facebook page read, “We are very sad to learn that Keith Tippett passed away today. Details have not been released. Keith, a gentle loving, vivacious, incredible spirit will rest peacefully now.”
During a long career, Tippett performed with numerous groups, including Mujician, Symbiosis, Ark, Ovary Lodge and Centipede, an ambitious, 50-piece jazz ensemble that he founded. Among rock fans, Tippett is revered as a keyboardist who contributed to prog-rock band King Crimson’s albums In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970), Lizard (1970) and Islands (1971). He reportedly turned down an invitation to join the band.
Other Tippett collaborators included Louis Moholo-Moholo, Stan Tracey, Robert Wyatt and the singer Julie Driscoll, whom he wed in 1970. She changed her name to Julie Tippetts, using the original spelling of his family surname.
Born Keith Graham Tippetts on Aug. 25, 1947, in Bristol, England, he played jazz as a youngster. In 1967, he moved to London and formed the Keith Tippett Group, a jazz group that released You Are There ... I Am Here (1970) and Dedicated To You, But You Weren’t Listening (1971).
Later in his career, among the other settings in which he performed was a trio with his wife and the drummer Willi Kellers.
Tippett also was a jazz educator who taught workshops for young musicians, including mentoring members of the Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2016.
Tippett’s solo piano album Live in Triest, which was recorded in Italy in 2010, was released in 2018.
King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp—who produced the 1973 self-titled album by Ovary Lodge—posted a tribute to his late friend that included this message: “Fly well, Brother Keith! My gratitude to you.” DB
Jordan was a dyed-in-the-wool bebopper whose formative musical experiences were with Charlie Parker.
Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
“I don’t guess I’m going to excite you; I know I’m going to excite you,” Palmieri said in an August 1994 DownBeat feature.
Aug 12, 2025 10:33 AM
Famed Latin jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri passed away in his New Jersey home on Aug. 6. He was…
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
“I love the place that fate or whatever has positioned me in Gil Evans’ life and legacy,” said Ryan Truesdell.
Aug 5, 2025 12:26 PM
“I originally set out to give two years of my life to Gil,” Ryan Truesdell said of his mindset in 2009, when he…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
