Legendary South African Trumpeter Hugh Masekela Dies

Hugh Masekela, the trumpeter, composer and anti-apartheid activist known as the "father of South African jazz" has died at the age of 78 in Johannesburg.

A statement by released by his family Tuesday said Masekela, affectionately called "Bra Hugh," passed away "after a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer." He announced last October that he was being treated for the disease, which was first diagnosed in 2008.

Masekela's five-decade career began in earnest in the 1950s, when he helped create the Johannesburg jazz scene as a member of the bebop sextet Jazz Epistles, but fled South Africa in the 1960s to spend the next three decades in exile.

He befriended American singer and activist Harry Belafonte, and he increasingly used his music to protest the indignities and repression of white-minority rule in his homeland. Among his better known protest tunes were "Soweto Blues," and "Bring Him Back Home," an anthem demanding the release of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela from prison.

Masekela scored an international number-one hit in 1968 with the breezy tune "Grazing in the Grass." He later collaborated with American pop star Paul Simon in the 1980s. He was briefly married in the 1960s to Miriam Makeba, the legendary South African singer and activist.

South African President Jacob Zuma praised Masekela in a statement Tuesday, saying he "kept the torch of freedom alive" through his music, and that "his contribution to the struggle for liberation will never be forgotten."

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa wrote on Twitter that "Bra Hugh was one of the great architects of Afro-Jazz and he uplifted the soul of our nation through his timeless music."

Photo of Hugh Masekela in 2007 by scorpius73.

Jazz Pioneer Horace Silver Dies

by Richard Paul

Jazz pianist and composer Horace Silver, 85, has died in New Rochelle, New York.

Throughout his remarkable career that began in the 1940s, the pianist, composer and arranger always had one goal in mind.

“I try to make people think with my music,” he said in a long, biographical interview from 1981 with jazz writer and photographer Bob Rosenbaum. 

Speaking recently, Rosenbaum recounted the highlights of Silver’s life, which started as the son of an immigrant from Cape Verde. 

“He grew up in a musical household," he said. "They used to throw parties for the family - you know - on Saturday afternoons - people would come over and play the music that they grew up with in Cape Verde islands.

While he was successful as a pianist, throughout his career, Silver was most revered as a composer and arranger.  His strength was drawing from multiple sources and putting them together in the jazz idiom.

“I've always taken a bit of this and a bit of that and blended it together," Silver said. "In the beginning, and I still do dig the Blues, gospel.  I love Latin rhythms.  I love Broadway show music.  Classical music.” 

Silver began playing in clubs in his hometown of Hartford, Connecticut. 

“We played for the floor shows -- they had a strip dancer and a comedian and a singer,” he said.

While the setting was less than ideal for the straight-laced Silver, Rosenbaum points out, the clubs had one key benefit.

“They would bring in name players,” he said.

One was saxophonist Stan Getz, who sat in with the house band one night in 1950.

“He just liked Horace’s playing and he said, ‘Would you come on the road with me?’ and then they were on the road half a year,” Rosenbaum said.

After Silver got off the road with Getz, he took to rehearsing during the days at New York’s famous Birdland jazz club, mainly because he didn’t have a piano of his own.

But being at Birdland put him on touch with all the jazz greats of the time and it was there, around 1952 that he met drummer Art Blakey and started one of his most important collaborations, the Jazz Messengers. 

“It was really Horace who created the Jazz Messengers," Rosenbaum said. "His presence enabled the establishment of of the Jazz Messengers. They had a very, very together balanced sound.  It created a unit of sound which didn't exist before -- actually, taking the idea of be-bop which is melodically very exciting and rhythmically very exciting and adding a front line to it - of horn players - and making it more of an orchestrated sound.”

Working with the Jazz Messengers connected Silver with the legendary jazz label Blue Note Records, which would be his musical home for the next 25 years.

But Silver’s time at Blue Note ended in disappointment. He left the iconic label and struck out on his own.

Creating his own record labels, Silver dove headlong into music that made people think.  He created a trilogy of experimental compositions with voices and unusual combinations of instruments, and in 1981, he collaborated with Bill Cosby on a record for kids called “Guides to Growing Up.”

“I think he felt deep inside that it wasn’t just about improvising in clubs and making people happy for an evening, but that he really had something to say with his music,” said Rosenbaum.

And he wanted those messages - above all - to last.

“To try to write music, and record it, perform it in such a manner that it will withstand the test of time,” said Silver.

Jazz Pianist Marian McPartland Dead at 95

by Eric Felten, Bernie Bernard

Marian McPartland, one of the best-known jazz artists in America, died August 20 in Port Washington, New York. She was 95. A musician who broke ground for women instrumentalists in the 1940s and ‘50s, she would later become best known as host of the long-running radio program “Piano Jazz.”

McPartland’s elegant approach to jazz gracefully spanned several major eras, from swing to bebop and beyond. Ms. McPartland brought the musical knowledge earned over decades playing in night-clubs to National Public Radio, where for more than 30 years she hosted “Piano Jazz,” a program that mixed conversation and performance with many of the world’s best musicians.

Born Margaret Marian Turner in Windsor, England, as a girl she took up piano. To her parents’ dismay, when she was 20 she left home to join a four-piano vaudeville act. On a tour playing for Allied troops during World War II she met American jazz trumpeter Jimmy McPartland. They married, and, after the war, moved to the United States. With her husband's encouragement, McPartland went on to lead her own small bands.

McPartland landed a steady job performing at a New York City jazz club, the Hickory House. She played there for eight years, and developed a reputation not only for her fine piano playing, but for her melodic original compositions. Her songs were recorded by singers such as Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, and Peggy Lee.

At first, McPartland was so nervous about her songwriting she wouldn't take the credit for her own tunes.

"Years ago, I felt very insecure about writing songs, and I wrote one at the Hickory House," she said. "Somebody said, 'That's a nice song,' so then it was O.K. for me to say that I had written it. Isn't that sick?"

Starting in the 1960s, McPartland traveled to schools around the United States, encouraging students to develop an appreciation for jazz. She would use popular songs to introduce young listeners to the many sounds of jazz.

"I'll probably pick a tune that they know, something they've all heard, like the theme of [television program] 'M.A.S.H.,' for instance. They all know that. Then I'll do it another way, maybe like jazz, blues or something slow.  And I'll go through a whole thumbnail history of jazz. I'll do some boogie-woogie and so on, and really kind of grab them with that. But as long as you know tunes that they know, I think that helps a lot."

McPartland took that approach to the airwaves in 1979. Her weekly show, “Piano Jazz” became one of the most popular programs on public radio, airing across the United States for over three decades. Each week she would engage noted musicians in casual, relaxed interviews. She would take turns with her guests playing songs, and then would perform duets with them. Both in its music and its conversations, McPartland’s “Piano Jazz” expressed the core jazz virtue of improvisation.

The National Endowment for the Arts recognized McPartland as a “Jazz Master” in 2000. Four years later she won a special Grammy Award for her lifetime achievement. She continued to perform and broadcast into her nineties.

Pioneering Jazz Musician Dave Brubeck Dies

by Doug Levine

Jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck died Wednesday in Norwalk, Connecticut of heart failure.  He was 91.  Brubeck rose to fame in the 1950s and became known the world over.  His recordings cover a wide spectrum of music including jazz, classical, spiritual and even pop.

Many believe that Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo A La Turk" from his groundbreaking 1959 album "Time Out" ushered in a new era for jazz.  Like others on the album, it was a song that combined complex time signatures with classical, jazz and Third World rhythms.

David Warren Brubeck was born in Concord, California and was first exposed to music by his mother, a classically trained piano teacher.  He discovered jazz improvisation while studying with French composer Darius Milhaud.  His interest in jazz was fueled by the formation of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and his own label Fantasy Records.

Following World War II, his group found work in small towns across America.  Brubeck said those thriving jazz clubs provided his finest training.  

"When I grew up almost every bar had a small combo and there were dance halls that we used to drive across this country, from one dance hall -- and maybe 200 or 300 miles -- the next day we'd be in a different dance hall.  Great dance halls clear across the open part of Nebraska and those towns, and we'd come across that way.  It's changed a lot because most of our jazz now is in the universities and colleges [that] have taken over the old way that we used to have...a way to learn was one-on-one next to an old veteran."

The Dave Brubeck Quartet consisted of Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Joe Morello on drums, Eugene Wright on bass and Dave Brubeck on piano when they recorded the Desmond classic "Take Five."  The song was so successful that it earned a spot on the popular music charts.

One of Brubeck’s best-selling albums was "Jazz Goes To College," recorded in American coffeehouses and college auditoriums during a tour in 1954.  It sold more than a million copies and landed Brubeck on the cover of Time magazine.

Brubeck believed that the younger generation played an important role in shaping the direction of jazz. 

"What we're going to have now is the individual who's come out of this group of people that respect the past," he said. "Because you really can't take a step forward until you know what was behind you."

The Dave Brubeck Quartet continued to tour and record until 1967 when Brubeck decided to pursue jazz-based symphonic works and sacred music.  A seasoned world traveler, he recorded several albums based on his reflections of other cultures.  Among them, were "Jazz Impressions of Eurasia," "Jazz Impressions of Japan" and "Moscow Night."

In 1993, Dave Brubeck teamed up with his sons Chris on bass and Dan on drums to record "Trio Brubeck."  Three years later, he won a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2009, he was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.  His son Chris once remarked, "Making music together is the most natural thing in the world for this family."

Dave Brubeck died Wednesday December 5, one day before his 92nd birthday.

John Levy



 Died 20 January 2012. John Levy, 99, American jazz double-bassist and manager. He died in Altadena, California.

Photography by William P. Gottlieb: John Levy (bass), Jimmy Jones (piano), and (possibly) Al Casey (guitar). Pied Pipers, NYC, September 1947.

Final Exits, 15-21 December 2011

Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer at the Clearwater Jazz Festival in the 1980s. Photo by Laura Kolb @ Lochaven.

Obituaries for 15-21 December 2011

15
* Eduardo Barreto, 57, Uruguayan comic book artist.
* Graham Booth, 71, British politician, Member of the European Parliament for South West England (2002–2008).
* William Claver, 75, Filipino human rights lawyer, Congressman from Kalinga-Apayao (1987–1992).
* David Fordham, 62, Australian sports commentator, cancer.
* Walter Giller, 84, German actor. (German)
* Christopher Hitchens, 62, British writer (God Is Not Great) and commentator (Vanity Fair), esophageal cancer.
* Paula Hyman, 65, American professor of modern Jewish history (Yale University).
* Ricardo Ibarra, 61, Argentine Olympic rower. (Spanish)
* Guy Ignolin, 75, French professional cyclist. (French)
* Nur Khan, 88, Pakistani air marshal, Chief of Air Staff (1965–1969) and Governor of West Pakistan (1969–1970).
* James M. Quigley, 93, American politician, Representative from Pennsylvania (1955–1957; 1959–1961).
* Jason Richards, 35, New Zealand race car driver, cancer.
* Carmen Rupe, 75, New Zealand transsexual entertainer, kidney failure.
* Mario Tovar González, 78, Mexican Olympic wrestler, respiratory complications. (Spanish)

16
* Ulf Aas, 92, Norwegian illustrator. (Norwegian)
* Bob Brookmeyer, 81, American jazz valve trombonist, cardiopulmonary arrest.
* Robert Easton, 81, American actor and dialect coach.
* Dan Frazer, 90, American actor (Kojak, As The World Turns), cardiac arrest.
* Alice Glenn, 89, Irish politician, TD for Dublin Central (1981–1982; 1982–1987).
* Chubee Kagita, 54, Japanese politician, heart failure. (Japanese)
* Gadzhimurat Kamalov, 46, Russian journalist, shot.
* Henry Kitchener, 3rd Earl Kitchener, 92, British soldier and aristocrat.
* Mark Kopytman, 82, Ukrainian-born Israeli composer. (Hebrew)
* Bert Muhly, 88, American politician and academic, Mayor of Santa Cruz, California (1974–1975), heart failure.
* Patrick V. Murphy, 91, American police chief, New York City Police Commissioner (1970–1973), heart attack.
* Te Paekiomeka Joy Ruha, 80, New Zealand Māori leader.
* Slim Dunkin, 24, American rapper (1017 Brick Squad), shot.
* Keith W. Wilcox, 90, American architect and politician, member of LDS priesthood.

17
* John Bishop, 65, American soul and jazz guitarist, heart attack.
* Sérgio Britto, 88, Brazilian actor and television host, heart failure. (Spanish)
* Michael Gower Coleman, 72, South African Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Port Elizabeth (1986–2011).
* Eva Ekvall, 28, Venezuelan TV news anchor and model, Miss Venezuela 2000, breast cancer.
* Cesária Évora, 70, Cape Verdean singer, heart failure.
* Kim Jong-il, 69 or 70, North Korean Supreme Leader (since 1994), heart attack.
* Mario Mannucci, 79, Italian rally co-driver. (Polish)
* Harley Sewell, 80, American football player (Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams).
* Joãosinho Trinta, 78, Brazilian Carnival designer, septic shock. (Portuguese)

18
* Doe Avedon, 86, American actress (The High and the Mighty) and model, pneumonia.
* Henry E. Catto, Jr., 81, American public servant and diplomat, complications of leukemia.
* Lorenzo de Rodas, 81, Mexican actor (Bajo la misma piel), heart attack. (Spanish)
* Jeremy Doyle, 28, Australian wheelchair basketball player, bladder cancer.
* Václav Havel, 75, Czech playwright and politician, President of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992) and the Czech Republic (1993–2003).
* Warren Hellman, 77, American investor, founder of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals, complications from leukemia treatment.
* Salem Jubran, 71, Israeli Arab poet and journalist.
* Ralph MacDonald, 67, American percussionist and songwriter.
* Donald Neilson, 75, English serial killer.
* Don Sharp, 89, Australian-born British film director (Hammer horror).
* Ronald Wolfe, 89, British sitcom writer (The Rag Trade, On the Buses), complications from a fall.

19
* George Athor, 49, South Sudanese rebel leader, shot.
* Luciano Magistrelli, 73, Italian Olympic footballer, heart attack. (Italian)
* Héctor Núñez, 75, Uruguayan footballer, after long illness. (Spanish)
* Horst-Eberhard Richter, 88, German psychoanalyst and social philosopher. (German)
* Ron Smith, 70, American radio host (WBAL), pancreatic cancer.

20
* Robert Ader, 79, American psychologist, co-founder of psychoneuroimmunology.
* Hana Andronikova, 44, Czech writer and playwright, cancer.
* Hugh Carless, 86, British diplomat and explorer.
* Clem DeRosa, 86, American jazz drummer, arranger, bandleader and music educator, director of the International Association for Jazz Education.
* Vasilis Dioskouridis, 70, Greek intellectual. (Greek)
* Jack Goldman, 90, American physicist, chief scientist at Xerox Corporation.
* Iván Heyn, 34, Argentine economist and politician.
* Khalifa Kambi, 56, Gambian politician, Deputy Minister of Agriculture (since 2010).
* Yoshimitsu Morita, 61, Japanese film director (The Family Game), liver failure.
* Tushar Ranganath, 37, Indian film director (Gulama), heart attack.
* John Rex, 86, South African-born British sociologist. (death reported on this date)
* Leopold Unger, 89, Polish journalist. (Polish)
* Kenchappa Varadaraj, 89, Indian Olympic footballer.
* Václav Zítek, 79, Czech opera singer.

21
* Francis Braganza, 89, Indian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Baroda (1987–1997).
* John Chamberlain, 84, American sculptor.
* P. K. Iyengar, 80, Indian nuclear scientist.
* Olavi Rokka, 86, Finnish Olympic modern pentathlete, bronze medalist (1952). (Finnish)
* Yevhen Rudakov, 69, Russian Olympic bronze medal-winning (1972) football goalkeeper. (Ukrainian)
* Robert Simons, 89, English cricketer (Hertfordshire).
* Roberto Szidon, 70, Brazilian classical pianist, heart attack. (Portuguese)
* Umanosuke Ueda, 71, Japanese professional wrestler and actor, respiratory failure. (Japanese)
* Jean-Pierre Urkia, 93, French-born Laotian Roman Catholic prelate, Vicar Apostolic of Paksé (1967–1975).

Romania's 'Mr. Jazz,' Johnny Raducanu, Dies at 79

Jazz musician Johnny Raducanu, dubbed “Mr. Jazz” of Romania, has died of a heart attack at age 79.

Raducanu was born into a Roma family whose roots as musical performers date back more than 300 years.

He was one of Romania's most versatile jazz musicians and entertainers, mastering the bass and piano, and also composing and arranging and leading his own band.

Raducanu also performed around the world, including in the former Soviet Union, the United States and much of Europe.

Photo: Johnny Răducanu (born Răducan Creţu on 1 December 1931 in Brăila), a Romanian Jazz musician, seen here in 2009. (Photo by Eyebrowed.)

Final Exits, 22-28 July 2011

Frank Foster (left) and Dan Morgenstern in 2008. (Photo: nea.gov)

Obituaries for 22-28 July 2011

22
* Tom Aldredge, 83, American actor (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire), lymphoma.
* Linda Christian, 87, Mexican-born American actress, first Bond girl (1954 television adaptation of Casino Royale).
* Tore Eikeland, 21, Norwegian politician, killed in 2011 Norway attacks. (Norwegian)
* Dmitri Furman, 68, Russian historian and philosopher, after long illness. (Russian)
* Charles Manatt, 75, American lawyer, banker and political figure, complications of a stroke.
* Malcolm Muir, 96, American jurist.
* Ifti Nasim, 64, Pakistani-born American poet and radio host, heart attack.
* Tex Nelson, 74, American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles).
* Wolfram Thiem, 55, German Olympic rower. (German)
* Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, 79, New Zealand politician, longest-serving female member of the House of Representatives (1967–1996).
* Brian Vallee, 70, Canadian journalist and documentary filmmaker, cancer.
* Cees de Wolf, 65, Dutch footballer (Ajax Amsterdam). (Dutch)

23
* David Aiken, 93, American operatic baritone and opera director.
* Toyoo Ashida, 67, Japanese animator (Fist of the North Star, The World of Narue, Gulliver Boy, F-Zero: GP Legend) (Japanese)
* Mathilde Aussant, 113, French supercentenarian, oldest person in France.
* Terence Boston, Baron Boston of Faversham, 81, British politician, MP for Faversham (1964–1970).
* John Chervokas, 74, American advertising writer.
* Robert Ettinger, 92, American cryonicist, respiratory failure.
* Ina van Faassen, 82, Dutch actress. (Dutch)
* Jack Fitzpatrick, 88, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Country Curtains, Massachusetts State Senator (1973–1980).
* Milton Gwirtzman, 78, American speech writer, advisor to the Kennedy family, metastatic melanoma.
* Johnny Hoes, 94, Dutch singer, composer and producer. (Dutch)
* Fran Landesman, 83, American lyricist and poet.
* Butch Lewis, 65, American boxing promoter, heart attack.
* Conrad Meyer, 89, British prelate, Bishop of Dorchester (1979–1988)
* Bill Morrissey, 59, American singer-songwriter.
* Nguyen Cao Ky, 80, Vietnamese air force chief and political leader, Prime Minister of South Vietnam (1965–1967).
* Richard Pike, 61, British chemist.
* George Ramos, 63, American reporter, editor and columnist (Los Angeles Times).
* Daryoush Rezaei, 35, Iranian nuclear scientist, shot.
* John Shalikashvili, 75, Polish-born American army general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1993–1997), stroke.
* Elmer B. Staats, 97, American public servant, Comptroller General of the United States (1966–1981).
* Amy Winehouse, 27, British singer-songwriter ("Rehab").

24
* Kaveinga Fa'anunu, 48, Tongan politician, MP for Tongatapu 9 (since 2010), head and neck cancer.
* Tresa Hughes, 81, American actress (Another World, Don Juan DeMarco, Fame).
* Gilbert Luján, 70, American painter, prostate cancer.
* Paul Marchand, 74, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Timmins (since 1999).
* Josip Bobi Marotti, 89, Croatian actor. (Croatian)
* Christopher Mayer, 57, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Santa Barbara, Liar Liar).
* Virgilio Noè, 89, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Peter (1991–2002).
* Mike Palm, 86, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox).
* Dan Peek, 60, American singer-songwriter (America).
* David Servan-Schreiber, 50, French physician, neuroscientist and author, cancer.
* G. D. Spradlin, 90, American actor (North Dallas Forty, The Godfather Part II).
* Skip Thomas, 61, American football player (Oakland Raiders), apparent heart attack.
* Jane White, 88, American actress (Beloved, Klute, Once Upon a Mattress).

25
* Michael Cacoyannis, 89, Cypriot filmmaker (Zorba the Greek).
* Bakır Çağlar, 69–70, Turkish jurist, lawyer and constitutional law professor, bleeding stomach. (Turkish)
* V. S. Krishna Iyer, 89, Indian activist and politician, after long illness.
* Jeret Peterson, 29, American free style skier, 2010 Winter Olympics silver medalist, suicide by gunshot.
* Ravichandran, 71, Malaysian-born Indian actor, lung infection.
* Mike Reaves, 52, American rock musician (Full Devil Jacket), prostate cancer.
* Irma Schmidt, 112, American supercentenarian, Connecticut's oldest resident.

26
* Joe Arroyo, 55, Colombian singer.
* Jacques Fatton, 85, French-born Swiss footballer. (German)
* Frank Foster, 82, American jazz saxophonist and composer, complications from kidney failure.
* Bobby Franklin, 54, American politician, apparent heart attack.
* Richard Harris, 63, American football player (Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks) and coach (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), heart attack.
* Sakyo Komatsu, 80, Japanese science fiction writer, pneumonia.
* Georges Kwaïter, 83, Syrian-born Lebanese Melkite Catholic hierarch, Archbishop of Saïdā (1987–2006).
* Elmer Lower, 98, American broadcast executive, president of ABC News (1963–1974).
* Silvio Narizzano, 84, Canadian-born British film and television director.
* Margaret Olley, 88, Australian painter.
* Yolanda Ordaz de la Cruz, Mexican journalist, cut throat. (body found on this date)
* Josephine C. Reyes, 82, Filipino educator, President of Far Eastern University (1985–1989).
* Howard Stein, 84, American financier, complications of a stroke.
* Tim Smooth, 39, American rapper, cancer.

27
* Wilfred Arsenault, 57, Canadian politician, cancer.
* Rudolf Baláž, 70, Slovak Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Banská Bystrica (since 1990).
* Richard Chavez, 81, American activist and labor organizer, brother of Cesar Chavez, complications from surgery.
* Ghulam Haider Hamidi, 65, Afghan politician, Mayor of Kandahar (since 2007), bombing.
* Rei Harakami, 40, Japanese musician, cerebrovascular disease. (Japanese)
* Hideki Irabu, 42, Japanese baseball player (Chiba Lotte Marines, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos), hanged. (body discovered on this date)
* Jerome Liebling, 87, American photographer, filmmaker and academic (Hampshire College).
* Polly Platt, 72, American film producer (Say Anything...), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
* Bejaratana Rajasuda, 85, Thai royal, only daughter of King Vajiravudh of Thailand.
* Eduard Rozovsky, 84, Russian cinematographer (Amphibian Man, White Sun of the Desert), car accident. (Russian)
* Pietro Sambi, 73, Italian-born Vatican Roman Catholic titular archbishop, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States (since 2005), respiratory failure.
* Francis John Spence, 85, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Kingston (1982–2002).
* John Stott, 90, British Anglican clergyman.

28
* Elazar Abuhatzeira, 70, Moroccan-born Israeli rabbi, stabbed.
* Frank Bender, 70, American forensic artist, pleural mesothelioma.
* Bernd Clüver, 63, German singer, complications from a fall. (German)
* Howard W. Creecy, Jr., 57, American preacher and civil rights leader, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, heart attack.
* Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, 25, British journalist, explosion.
* David Legrant, 87, American acting teacher and actor.
* Agapito Lozada, 72, Filipino Olympic swimmer.
* John Marburger, 70, American physicist and presidential adviser, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
* Fortino Cortés Sandoval, 39, Mexican politician, Mayor of Florencia de Benito Juárez, shot. (Spanish) (body found on this date)
* Judy Sowinski, 70, American roller derby player. (death reported on this date)
* Jack Thompson, 82, British politician, MP for Wansbeck (1983–1997). (death reported on this date)
* John Milton Yinger, 95, American sociologist.
* Abdul Fatah Younis, 67, Libyan rebel leader and government official, former Interior Minister, shot.

Spoken Word Musician Gil Scott-Heron Dies in NYC

Gil Scott-Heron on 21 March 2010 (Photo: NPR)

Spoken Word Musician Gil Scott-Heron Dies in NYC
Saturday, 28 May 2011

American poet-musician Gil Scott-Heron, widely known for his 1970's song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, died Friday at a New York hospital. He was 62 years old.

Scott-Heron pioneered a sound composed of politically tinged poetry and jazzy-blues blended into a melodic rap.

The Associated Press quotes someone at his New York recording company as saying Scott-Heron died after becoming ill on his return home from a trip to Europe.

Gil Scott-Heron is also credited with writing books during his career spanning several decades.

Final Exits, 8-14 May 2011

Guitarist Cornell Dupree in Montreux, Switzerland, 2 July 1976. (Photo: Lioneldecoster)

Obituaries for 8-14 May 2011

8
* Huthaifa al-Batawi, Iraqi al-Qaeda leader, shot.
* Moayed al-Saleh, Iraqi brigadier general, head of counter-terrorism in Baghdad, shot.
* Wallace Clark, 84, Northern Irish maritime writer.
* Cornell Dupree, 68, American jazz and R&B guitarist, complications from emphysema.
* Gheorghe Guţiu, 87, Romanian Catholic hierarch, Archbishop of Cluj-Gherla (1994–2002).
* Li Desheng, 95, Chinese People's Liberation Army general. (Chinese)
* Charles McPhee, 49, American radio host, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
* Greg Percival, 86, Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1977–1978; 1986–1988).
* Soňa Pertlová, 23, Czech chessplayer, cancer.
* Lionel Rose, 62, Australian world champion boxer.
* Hilton Rosemarin, 58, Canadian set decorator (Three Men and a Baby, Cocktail, Jumper), brain cancer.
* Carlos Trillo, 68, Argentine comic book writer (Cybersix). (Spanish)
* Galina Urbanovich, 93, Russian Olympic gold and silver medal-winning (1952) gymnast.
* Arkady Vaksberg, 83, Russian journalist, critic and biographer. (Russian)
* Sir Ronald Waterhouse, 85, British jurist.

9
* Gerald Bordman, 79, American playwright (American Musical Theatre) and author, cancer.
* David Cairns, 44, British politician, MP for Greenock and Inverclyde (2001–2005) and Inverclyde (since 2005), acute pancreatitis.
* Robert Ellsworth, 84, American politician and diplomat, U.S. Representative from Kansas (1961–1967), Ambassador to NATO (1969–1971), complications from pneumonia.
* Epiphanios of Vryoula, 76. American Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Spain and Portugal.
* Henry Feffer, 93, American professor and spine surgeon, treated Saddam Hussein, heart failure.
* Dolores Fuller, 88, American actress (Glen or Glenda), and songwriter ("Rock-A-Hula Baby").
* Jeff Gralnick, 72, American television news producer.
* Lidia Gueiler Tejada, 89, Bolivian politician, acting President (1979–1980), after a long illness.
* Manos Loukakis, 60, Greek poet and literary critic, cancer. (Greek)
* Ivo Pešák, 66, Czech singer, dancer and comic performer. (Polish)
* Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya, 82, Nepali politician, Foreign Minister (1986–1990), altitude sickness.
* Wouter Weylandt, 26, Belgian road bicycle racer, race crash.

10
* Omar Ahmad, 46, American entrepreneur and politician, Mayor of San Carlos, California (2007–2011), heart attack.
* Michael Baze, 24, American jockey.
* Bill Bergesch, 89, American baseball executive (New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds).
* Vasilis Bozikis, 67, Greek photojournalist, cancer. (Greek)
* Mia Amber Davis, 36, American plus-size model and actress (Road Trip), postoperative complications.
* Cleve Dean, 57, American arm wrestling champion, heart attack.
* Bill Gallo, 88, American cartoonist and newspaper columnist, complications from pneumonia.
* Patrick Galvin, 83, Irish writer.
* M. S. Gurupadaswamy, 89, Indian politician and minister, heart attack.
* Héctor Medina, 35, Honduran journalist, shot.
* Zim Ngqawana, 51, South African jazz saxophonist, stroke.
* Burt Reinhardt, 91, American broadcast journalist and former President of CNN, complications from strokes.
* Stanley Wright, 62, American jazz musician.
* Norma Zimmer, 87, American entertainer (The Lawrence Welk Show).

11
* Leo Kahn, 94, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Staples, complications from a series of strokes.
* Albert Kanene Obiefuna, 81, Nigerian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Onitsha (1995–2003).
* Reach Sambath, 47, Cambodian journalist, stroke.
* Robert Traylor, 34, American basketball player (Bucks, Cavaliers, Hornets), suspected heart attack. (body found on this date)
* Snooky Young, 92, American jazz trumpeter.

12
* Aaron Douglas, 21, American college football player (University of Alabama).
* Daryl Hawks, 38, American sportscaster (WMAQ-TV). (body found on this date)
* Mose Jefferson, 68, American businessman, cancer.
* Jack Jones, 86, American Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter (Los Angeles Times), lung disease.
* Lloyd Knibb, 80, Jamaican drummer (The Skatalites), liver cancer.
* Ron Springs, 54, American football player (Cowboys, Buccaneers), complications from surgery.
* Miyu Uehara, 24, Japanese glamour model, apparent suicide by hanging.

13
* Derek Boogaard, 28, Canadian hockey player (Wild, Rangers).
* Pam Gems, 85, British playwright.
* Bernard Greenhouse, 95, American cellist.
* Princess Maria Elisabeth of Orléans-Braganza, 96, German noblewoman. (Portuguese)
* Wallace McCain, 81, Canadian businessman, co-founder of McCain Foods, pancreatic cancer.
* Mel Queen, 69, American baseball player (Reds, Angels) and pitching coach (Blue Jays).
* Jack Richardson, 81, Canadian record producer (The Guess Who).
* Bruce Ricker, 68, American film documentarian and producer (Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser).
* Badal Sarkar, 85, Indian dramatist, colon cancer.
* Piotr Żyżelewicz, 46, Polish drummer (Voo Voo), stroke.

14
* Ferial Alibali, 78, Albanian actress. (Albanian)
* Murray Handwerker, 89, American businessman (Nathan's Famous).
* Birgitta Trotzig, 81, Swedish author.
* Ernie Walker, 82, Scottish football administrator.
* Joseph Wershba, 90, American television producer and reporter.

Singer Phoebe Snow of 'Poetry Man' Fame Dies

Singer Phoebe Snow of 'Poetry Man' Fame Dies
Tuesday, 26 April 2011

U.S. singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, best known for her 1975 smash hit “Poetry Man,” has died.

Snow's manager said she died of complications from a stroke she suffered last year.

The New York-born Snow was widely known as a folk guitarist who also was adept at blues and jazz.

She dropped out of show business at the height of her fame in the mid 1970s to care for her daughter, who was born with severe brain damage.

Snow occasionally would return to the spotlight to make albums, do concert tours, and record television commercials.

She was one of former president Bill Clinton's favorite singers, and performed for him several times at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

Legendary US Jazz Drummer Morello Dies at 82

Dave Brubeck Quartet at Congress Hall Frankfurt/Main (1967). From left to right: Joe Morello, Eugene Wright, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond. (Photo: Dontworry)

Legendary US Jazz Drummer Morello Dies at 82
Sunday, 13 March 2011

Joe Morello, the legendary jazz drummer of the Dave Brubeck Quartet popular in the 1950s and 1960s, has died. He was 82 years old.

Morello's relatives say the musician died Saturday at his home in New Jersey. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Joe Morello joined the quartet in 1956 and stayed with the group until it disbanded in 1967. The quartet experimented in unusual rhythms on a series of groundbreaking albums that earned it popular and critical acclaim.

Morello was asked to execute the challenging rhythms on such classic recordings as Take Five and Blue Rondo a la Turk.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Morello initially studied the violin before becoming a drummer in his teen years. In 1952 he moved to New York, where he played with many leading jazz musicians.

After Brubeck disbanded the quartet, Morello turned to helping young musicians and teaching them their craft.

Jazz Great George Shearing Dies at 91

George Shearing: Swing Era (Photo: Idem)

Jazz Great George Shearing Dies at 91
Monday, 14 February 2011

Legendary jazz pianist and composer George Shearing has died. He was 91.

Shearing succumbed to congestive heart failure in New York on Monday.

Born blind in London in 1919, he began playing the piano at the age of three. He was already popular in England when he decided to emigrate to the United States in 1947 where he embarked on an extraordinary career.

Shearing wrote more than 300 compositions. But he is probably best known for the 1952 classic Lullaby of Birdland .

Shearing received numerous awards during his six-decade career, including a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 for his contribution to music.