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Al Aarons • Emerson Able • Clifford Adams • Anthony Agresta • Willie Akins • Van Alexander • James Alkire • Daevid Allen • Bob Allen • Archie Alleyne • Erik Amundsen • Dieter Antritter • Killer Ray Appleton • Umberto Arlati • Webster Armstrong • Ben Aronov • Ara Arsenian • Paul Bacon • Philip Barker • Gil Barretto • Pa Pa Joe Basile • Harold Battiste • Tony Bazley • George Bean • Bob Belden • Marcus Belgrave • Sándor Benkó • Abdelhaï Bennani • John Berg • Miriam Bienstock • Jón Páll Bjarnason • Brent Black • Tony Blazely • Al Block • George Bouchard • Buddy Boudreaux • David Bournazian • Cephas Bowles • Lenny Boyd • Jenny Brown • Allan Browne • Owen Bryce • Maureen Budway • Thomas Buhé • Les Bull • Manfred Burzlaff • Papa Joe Buschmann • Steve Campos • George Cariote • Carlos Carli • Joe Cavallaro • Rick Chamberlain • Madhav Chari • Emile Charlap • Ornette Coleman • Mick Collins • Augusta Lee Collins • Jerome Cooper • Keith Copeland • B.J. Crosby • Ron Crotty • Alicia Cunningham • Albert D'annibale • Rick Davies • Adele Davis • Donna Davis • Alain De Grosbois • John T. "Bunky" Devecchis • Manfred Dierkes • Sam Distefano • Don Doane • Sam Dockery • Eric Doney • Emilo "Monk" Dupre • Buddy Emmons • Wilton Felder • Ernie Felice • Garrison Fewell • Vic Firth • Dale Fitzgerald • Niels Foss • Dick Gail • Hal Gaylor • Tom Giacabetti • Ken Gibson • Jeff Golub • Coleridge Goode • Silvano Grandi • Max Greger • Donald Griffin • Mahmoud Guinia • John Gumpper • Harry Hach • Dave Hatfield • Johnny Helms • Russell Henderson • Judith Hendricks • Herbie Hess • Travis Hill • Doris Hines • Hajo Hoffman • Marilyn Holderfield • Don Hurless • Jørgen Ingmann • Don Innes • Paul Jeffrey • Ove Johansson • Orville Johnson • Rusty Jones • Ivan Jullien • Bill Jupp • Raymond Katarzynsky • Johnny Keating • Orrin Keepnews • Ray Kennedy • Gary Keys • Masabumi Kikuchi • Mike King • Milton Kleeb • Al Kohn • Heinz Kretzschmar • Bill Lacy • Cynthia Lane • Steve Lane • James Last • Bruce Lawrence • Cynthia Layne • Michael Leonard • Monica Lewis • Carl Lindberg • Erik Lindström • Vanja Lisak • Eddy Louiss • Bruce Lundvall • Gene Lynn • John McLellan • Corky McClerkin • Mary McGowan • William Thomas McKinley • John Maimone • Brent Moore Majors • Robert Martin • Zen Matsuura • Harold Baxter Mead • Lothar Meid • Therese Ellen Spencer Mersereau • Sepp Mitterbauer • James L. Mooney • Richard O. Moore • Buddy Moreno • Nino Morreale • Mark Murphy • Bob Murphy • Zane Musa • Rene Nan • Marty Napoleon • Musa Afia Ngum • Peter Nieuwerf • Hermann Nieweler • Gene Norman • Father Peter O'Brien • Kjell Öhman • Harold Ousley • Bob Parlocha • Steve Peck • Nat Peck • Confrey Phillips • Dave Pike • Steve Pouchie • Richie Pratt • George Probert • Hugo Rasmussen • Margo Reed • Ted Reinhardt • Joerg Reiter • Don Rendell • Slim Richey • Emmanuel Riggins • Dana Lynn Rogers • Peter Rose • Doudou N'diaye Rose • Larry Rosen • Earl S. Ross • Hank Ross • Bruno Rub • Guillermo Rubalcaba • Howard Rumsey • Tommy Ruskin • Wolfgang Sauer • Don Scaletta • Peter Schmidlin • Unge Schmidt • Roland Schneider • Gunther Schuller • Hazen Schumacher • Ambros Seelos • Paul Serrano • Ralph Sharon • Lee Shaw • Chester Sheard • Jack Six • Benjamin Louis Smalley • Bill Smith • Daniel Smith • Joseph Soares, Jr. • Lew Soloff • Barry Soulsby • Marc Steckar • George Stell • Rowena Stewart • Bernard Stollman • Charles "Butch" Stone • Ettore Stratta • Steve Swann • Ward Swingle • Marco Tamburini • Sandy Taylor • John Taylor • Clark Terry • Marc Thomas • Joseph Torregano • Allen Toussaint • Rein Van Den Broek • Benny Vasseur • Robert Veen • Norbert Vollath • Murray Wald • Bengt-Arne Wallin • Jean Warland • Ray Warleigh • Bobby Watley • Lee "Westy" Westenhofer • Bob Whitlock • Ken Williams • Leola King Wilson • Emily Ann Wingert • Wilmer Wise • Karl Wlaschek • Jürgen Wölfer • Phil Woods • Richard Youngstein • Steve Zegree • Jerome Zeiring
Roland Schneider (June 3rd, 1937 - December 25th, 2015) The pianist was part of his native Germany’s post-war Swing scene and later worked with Charly Antolini, Conny Jackel and Günter Lenz. Schneider died December 25th at 78.
Ove Johansson (December 3rd, 1936 - December 24th, 2015) Apart from a stint with fellow Swede Lars Gullin, the saxophonist was mostly a leader of his own groups since the ‘50s, particularly Mwendo Dawa, and also founded LJ Records in 1989. Johansson died December 24th at 79.
Sam Dockery (September 18th, 1929 - December 21st , 2015) The pianist (brother to bassist Wayne), whose first recording credit was with Clifford Brown, was part of drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers from October 1956-October 1957 (coming in between the Horace Silver and Bobby Timmons eras), appearing on 10 albums for Columbia, Savoy, Pacific Jazz, Vik, Jubilee, Cadet and Bethlehem, including Hard Bop, Ritual (to which he contributed “Sam’s Tune), Tough! and A Night in Tunisia, later touring with Buddy Rich, Betty Carter and Archie Shepp. Dockery died December 21st at 86.
Daniel Smith (September 11th, 1939 - December 19th, 2015) The critically acclaimed classical bassoonist was a featured soloist with numerous orchestras and made a late career switch to jazz performance with a series of CDs for Summit. Smith died December 19th at 76.
Tony Blazley (September 10th, 1936 - December 16th, 2015) The New Orleanais drummer’s career started in earnest on the West Coast after the army, leading to late ‘50s-early ‘60s recordings with Herb Geller, Wes Montgomery and Roy Ayers. Blazley died December 16th at 79.
Don Doane (November 6th, 1931 - December 16th, 2015) The trombonist adapted years of early big band experience with Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Count Basie into a career as an educator in Maine. Doane died December 16th at 84.
Sándor Benkó (August 25th, 1940 - December 15th, 2015) The Hungarian clarinetist founded the longstanding Benkó Dixieland Band in 1957, which was the winner of the 1982 Sacramento Jazz Festival Grand Prize. Benkó died December 15th at 75.
Rick Davies (??? - December 11th, 2015) The trombonist’s later career as an educator at SUNY-Plattsburgh was preceded by extensive work in the Latin scene as well as recordings with Saheb Sarbib, Jaki Byard and Blondie. Davies died December 11th at an unknown age.
Rusty Jones (April 13th, 1942 - December 9th, 2015) The drummer worked from 1972-78 with George Shearing and also toured with Marian McPartland, Adam Makowicz, Ira Sullivan, J.R. Monterose and Stéphane Grappelli, among others. Jones died December 9th at 73.
Jerome Ziering (March 13th, 1924 - December 4th, 2015) The trumpeter toured with Milton Berle’s U.S. Army show and later led his own orchestra but is most thanked for being Woody Shaw’s first teacher. Ziering died December 4th at 91.
Dick Gail (June 14th, 1938 - December 2nd, 2015) The drummer performed with Charles Earland, Albert Ayler, Grant Green, Lonnie Smith, Rhoda Scott, Frank Wright, Eddie Henderson, Groove Holmes and Dizzy Reece, among others. Gail died December 2nd at 77.
Buddy Moreno (July 14th, 1912 - November 29th, 2015) The vocalist was featured in the ‘40s band of Dick Jurgens, then moved on to greater exposure with Harry James’ band and leading his own orchestra through the ‘60s before devoting himself to radio work. Moreno died November 29th at 103.
Bengt-Arne Wallin (July 13th, 1926 - November 23rd, 2015) The Swedish trumpeter has a leader discography going back to the late ‘50s on Vik, Dux, Sonet and Dragon and numerous sideman/arranging credits with Georg Riedel, Arne Domnerus, Ernestine Anderson, Quincy Jones, Lars Gullin, Friedrich Gulda, Monica Zetterlund and Hans Koller. Wallin died November 23rd at 89.
Al Aarons (March 23rd, 1932 - November 17th, 2015) The trumpeter was a fixture in Count Basie bands of the ‘60s and also worked under Sarah Vaughan, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Harris, Stanley Clarke, Ella Fitzgerald and Zoot Sims, among others, to go along with occasional pop, rock and soul credits through the ‘80s and a single 1995 album as a leader, organized and released by the Los Angeles Jazz Society. Aarons died November 17th at 82.
Allen Toussaint (January 14th, 1938 - November 10th, 2015) The New Orleanais royalty, though an accomplished pianist and performer, earned his jazz credits indirectly, his songs performed by artists such as Lou Donaldson, Al Hirt, David “Fathead” Newman, Jimmy Smith, Robin Kenyatta and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, as well as via production credits for Ramsey Lewis and Eric Gale, more recent performing appearances on albums by Madeleine Peyroux and Oz Noy and his own 2008 album The Bright Mississippi, wherein he played ragtime pieces and music by Ellington and Monk with such modern jazz players as Brad Mehldau, Don Byron, Marc Ribot, Nicholas Payton and Joshua Redman. Toussaint died November 10th at 77.
Richard Youngstein (October 30th, 1944 - November 9th, 2015) The bassist’s discography includes separate work with both Paul Bley and Carla Bley (including the latter’s massive opus Escalator Over The Hill) as well as credits with Bobby Naughton, Frederic Rzewski, Roswell Rudd, Fred Tomkins and Sam Phipps and three albums as a leader released under the name Noah Young. Youngstein died November 9th at 71.
Kjell Öhman (September 3rd, 1943 - November 5th, 2015) The Swedish pianist/organist released a handful of albums under his own name from 1966 into the new millennium and worked with fellow Scandinavians like Rune Gustafsson, Bengt-Arne Wallin, Mads Vinding, Monica Zetterlund and ex-pat drummer Ed Thigpen to go along with a far more voluminous career as a session musician for Swedish pop acts. Öhman died November 5th at 72.
Lothar Meid (August 28th, 1942 - November 3rd, 2015) The German bassist was a member of the jazz-rock bands Amon Düül, Embryo and Klaus Doldinger’s Passport and later moved into a parallel career as a film score composer. Meid died November 3rd at 73.
Gene Norman (January 30th, 1922 - November 2nd, 2015) The club owner and record producer (né Nabatoff) came to jazz through work on the radio, then concert promotion at venues like the Shrine Auditorium and Hollywood Bowl and continued with Crescendo, his Los Angeles club, hosting many major jazz and comedy acts, such as Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington, and his eponymous label GNP (Gene Norman Presents), which released albums by Charlie Ventura, Buddy DeFranco, Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown and Max Roach, the debut by alto saxophonist Frank Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Lionel Hampton, Tenors West (Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre, Harry Klee and Bob Enevoldsen with the Marty Paich Octet) and many others (some recorded live at Crescendo). Norman died November 2nd at 93.
Lee Shaw (June 25th, 1926 - October 25th, 2015) The pianist was perhaps best known for teaching John Medeski but studied off and on with Oscar Peterson, co-led a trio with her husband, drummer Stan Shaw, for decades, which backed up numerous visiting musicians in their adopted region of upstate New York, and played regularly with her own long-standing trio, recording the acclaimed Live in Graz (ARC) when she was 81 and then a quartet album with Medeski, Together Again: Live At The Egg (ARC) two years later. Shaw died October 25th at 89.
Nat Peck (January 13th, 1925 - October 24th, 2015) The Brooklynite trombonist spent time in England as part of Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Orchestra, moved to Paris where he recorded with Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Clarke, became a mainstay of Clarke’s big band with Francy Boland as well as amassing credits with Coleman Hawkins, Carmen McRae, Michel Legrand and Phil Woods, later giving up playing in lieu of orchestral contracting. Peck died October 24th at 90.
Mark Murphy (March 14th, 1932 – October 22nd, 2015) The vocalist, multiple Grammy nominee and regular jazz poll winner had nearly 50 albums as leader for Verve, Riverside, Muse, HighNote and a one-album return to Verve in 2006 alongside guest spot with Charlie Byrd, Herb Geller, Jeff Hamilton and The Royal Bopsters Project. Murphy died October 22nd at 83.
Don Rendell (March 4th, 1926 - October 20th, 2015) The British saxophonist bridged the worlds of trad jazz and more experimental fare, working early on with Johnny Dankworth and Ted Heath (as well as being part of the touring bands of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman) and then co-founding a modern jazz quintet with trumpeter Ian Carr (which gave opportunities to younger British jazz musicians), recording several albums, and appearing on sessions by Michael Garrick, Neil Ardley and Amancio d’Silva while continuing to record as a leader into the new millennium. Rendell died October 20th at 89.
Larry Rosen (May 25th, 1940 - October 9th, 2015) The music industry figure and one-time drummer co-founded GRP Records along with Dave Grusin (Billboard’s #1 Contemporary Jazz label for five consecutive years, the roster of which included Chick Corea, Diana Krall, Ramsey Lewis, Arturo Sandoval, Michael and Randy Brecker, Kevin Eubanks, Gary Burton and many others), created the PBS series Legends of Jazz, produced the Jazz Roots series and Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and won numerous Grammys as an album producer. Rosen died October 9th at 75.
Dave Pike (March 23rd, 1938 - October 3rd, 2015) The vibraphonist’s early career was as part of Herbie Mann’s 1963-67 groups and he also worked with Slide Hampton, Kenny Clarke and Volker Kriegel and had a steady career as a leader starting with a 1961 Riverside date and continuing through the decades with releases on Epic, Moodsville, Verve, MPS, Muse and Criss Cross. Pike died October 3rd at 77.
Coleridge Goode (November 29th, 1914 - October 2nd, 2015) The Jamaican bassist made his career in London after moving there in 1942, working early on with guitarist Django Reinhardt and then violinist Stéphane Grappelli and also was a part of fellow Jamaican Leslie “Jiver” Hutchinson’s all-Black band but is best known for his contributions to the more progressive ‘60s British jazz scene on albums led by alto saxophonist Joe Harriott and pianist Michael Garrick. Goode died October 2nd at 100.
Phil Woods (November 2nd, 1931 – September 29th, 2015) The alto saxophonist, a DownBeat Critics’ Poll Winner in 1975-79, 1981-85, 1988-90, 1992, 1996-2001 and 2008 and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, President’s Merit Awardee from the Grammy Foundation and Kennedy Center Living Legends in Jazz recipient, got his start with Jimmy Raney and Neal Hefti, debuting as a co-leader in 1954 with Jon Eardley for Prestige, continue to record for the label through the ‘50s and later for Mode, Epic, Candid, Impulse, Pathé, Verve, Embryo, Muse, Philology (an Italian label named for him for whom he recorded from 1980 onwards), Enja, Red, Mosaic, Venus, Chesky, Jazzed Media and Kind of Blue, among others to go along with sideman dates for Duke Jordan, Donald Byrd, Frank Wess, Sahib Shihab, Cecil Payne, Herbie Mann, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Thelonious Monk, Benny Carter, Bob Brookmeyer, Quincy Jones, Art Farmer, Oliver Nelson, Clark Terry, Zoot Sims, Michel Legrand and many others, plus being the soloist on Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”. Woods died September 29th at 83.
Wilton Felder (August 31st, 1940 - September 27th, 2015) The saxophonist was one of the co-founders of the Jazz Crusaders of the ‘60s (later Crusaders in the ‘70s and then partially reformed as the Jazz Crusaders in the ‘90s) and would go on to a long career as an electric bassist for artists like Jean-Luc Ponty, Blue Mitchell, Donald Byrd, Grant Green and various pop acts, returning to saxophone for his several albums as a leader. Felder died September 27th at 75.
Ray Warleigh (September 28th, 1938 - September 21st, 2015) The Australian saxophonist’s career was based in the blues, folk and jazz scenes of Britain, the latter as part of the groups of Ronnie Scott, Mike Gibbs, Mike Westbrook, John Stevens, Tubby Hayes, Soft Machine, Kenny Wheeler, Ray Russell, Dedication Orchestra and Stan Sulzmann, in addition to four albums as a leader or co-leader for Phillips, Vinyl, psi and Rare Music. Warleigh died September 21st at 76.
Zen Matsuura (??? - September 19th, 2015) The Japanese-American drummer was a founder of the short-lived Commitment band with Jason Hwang, Will Connell and William Parker and also worked with Parker, pianist Steve Cohn, violinist Billy Bang and trumpeter Roy Campbell, Jr. Matsuura died September 19th at an unspecified age.
Ernie Felice (April 11th, 1922 - September 13th, 2015) The accordion player briefly brought the instrument into the jazz world as part of clarinetist Benny Goodman’s short-lived sextet of 1947 and released a handful of more commercial albums under his own name for Capitol. Felice died September 13th at 93.
Augusta Lee Collins (1946 - September 7th, 2015) The guitarist’s recent work was in the realm of Delta blues but he got his start as a drummer playing R&B and then jazz in the ‘70s, working with Idris Ackamoor’s Pyramids and Julian Priester’s Marine Intrusion. Collins died September 7th at 69.
Hugo Rasmussen (March 22nd, 1941 – August 30th, 2015) The Danish bassist, winner of the Ben Webster, Bent Jædig and Dansk Musiker Forbund Prizes and pedagogue at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, had hundreds of credits with a wide stylistic swathe of players, from saxophonists Ben Webster, Oliver Nelson and John Tchicai and pianists Joe Albany and Horace Parlan to guitarist Pierre Dørge and drummer Kresten Osgood, plus a few albums as a leader or as part of a collective. Rasmussen died August 30th at 74.
Erik Lindström (May 29th, 1922 - August 27th, 2015) The Finnish bassist had early credits with Bengt Hallberg, Benny Bailey and his own ensembles but was much better known in his native country as a composer and arranger for various pop and jazz acts. Lindström died August 27th at 93.
Doudou N’diaye Rose (July 30th, 1928 - August 19th, 2015) The Senegalese Griot and percussionist had performing credits with such jazz players as Miles Davis, David Murray and Michel Portal. Rose died August 19th at 87.
Max Greger (April 2nd, 1926 - August 15th, 2015) The German saxophonist began his jazz career after World War II, led a number of small bands during the ‘50s-60s and then took over leadership of the ZDF Big Band in the ‘70s along with releasing albums on Brunswick and Polydor. Greger died August 15th at 89.
Emily Ann Wingert (November 24th, 1934 - August 15th, 2015) The founder and proprietor of the Montclair jazz club Trumpets from 1988-98 (sold after losing her hearing) later was an advocate for the hearing-impaired. Wingert died August 15th at 80.
Harold Ousley (January 23rd, 1929 - August 13th, 2015) The tenor saxophonist had a smattering of leader dates for Bethlehem, Muse, Cobblestone and Delmark from 1961-2000 along with sessions under Bennie Green, Horace Parlan, Jack McDuff, Grassella Oliphant, Ray Bryant, George Benson, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Lou Donaldson and Dinah Washington. Ousley died August 13th at 86.
Gary Keys (February 12th, 1934 - August 9th, 2015) The documentary filmmaker’s later works may have been about Whitney Houston and Muhammad Ali but he got his start as a jazz concert programmer at MoMA, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and made three films about Duke Ellington, the first in conjunction with a tour of the band he organized, as well as the 1976 TV special “The Original Rompin’ Stompin’ Hot and Heavy, Cool and Groovy All-Star Jazz Show” with jazz legends of the period. Keys died August 9th at 81.
Buddy Emmons (January 27th, 1937 - July 29th, 2015) The steel guitar player was a legend in the Nashville country scene from the late ‘50s on but brought his instrument into the jazz world with Steel Guitar Jazz (Verve, 1963), featuring Jerome Richardson, Art Davis and Charli Persip and material by Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver and Ray Noble. Emmons died July 29th at 78.
Van Alexander (May 2nd, 1915 - July 19th, 2015) The composer and arranger, known for his work with a young Ella Fitzgerald (while both were with Chick Webb), also collaborated with Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman, Peggy Lee and others and later become famed as a composer for Hollywood films and teacher of arranging. Alexander died July 19th at 100.
John Taylor (Sep. 25th, 1942 - July 17th, 2015) The pianist was a participant in the jazz scene of his native England in the ‘60s, working with Harry Beckett, Graham Collier, Alan Skidmore, John Surman, Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone (the latter two with whom he formed Azimuth), leading various groups on labels like Turtle and MPS in the ‘70s to his most recent recordings for CAM Jazz and being a stalwart player for ECM on sessions by Arild Andersen, Peter Erskine, Jan Garbarek, Miroslav Vitous, Surman, Wheeler and Winstone. Taylor died July 17th at 72.
Howard Rumsey (November 7th, 1917 - July 15th, 2015) The California bassist’s early work was in the Stan Kenton band but his claim to fame is establishing The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach as ground zero for the West Coast jazz movement in 1949 and leading The Lighthouse All-Stars, members of which included Maynard Ferguson, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Jimmy Giuffre, Bud Shank, Hampton Hawes, Marty Paich, Shelly Manne, Max Roach and others and recorded for the Contemporary label in the ‘50s and then again in the late ‘80s after reforming. Rumsey died July 15th at 97.
Ettore Stratta (March 20th, 1933 - July 9th, 2015) The producer of albums by Phil Woods, Dick Hyman, Stéphane Grappelli, Tony Bennett, Eddie Daniels, Ramsey Lewis, Cleo Laine, Dave Brubeck and others as well as a conductor/arranger for popular symphonic orchestras was, along with his wife Pat Philips, an organizer of concerts, notably the annual Django Reinhardt Festival held at Birdland. Stratta died July 9th at 82.
Masabumi Kikuchi (October 19th, 1939 – July 6th, 2015) The pianist, nicknamed Poo, began his career in his native Japan in the early ‘60s, first with older players like pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and Sadao Watanabe, then peers such as Masahiko Togashi and Terumasa Hino and visiting players like Gary Peacock, starting his leader career in 1970, then, later in the decade, relocating to New York City where he worked with Gil Evans, Hino and Al Foster, led his own projects, such as a series of realtime synthesizer performances named for the elements in Japanese Buddhism and his Tethered Moon group with Peacock and Paul Motian, and being part of Motian’s last groups and including him in his ECM debut. Kikuchi died July 6th at 75.
Garrison Fewell (October 14th, 1953 - July 5th, 2015) The guitarist and professor at Berklee College of Music led ensembles such as The Variable Density Sound Orchestra, released albums on Accurate, Koch and Splasc(h) and collaborated with John Tchicai, Steve Swell and others. Fewell died July 5th at 61.
Joerg Reiter (November 22nd, 1958 - July 2nd, 2015) The German pianist’s credits include Biréli Lagrène, Johannes Faber, Peter Herbolzheimer and Uri Caine as well as his own bands and work as an arranger for various ensembles. Reiter died July 2nd at 56.
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