On October 26, 2025, Jack DeJohnette died aged 83. He was musician (drums, piano) and composer, regarded as one of the most influential jazz drummers of all time. He recorded and performed with some of the best known jazz musicians, including Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Lloyd, John Abercrombie, Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, and John Scofield. In 2007, he was inducted into the “Modern Drummer Hall of Fame”, and won two “Grammy Awards”. As leader DeJohnette released 38 albums.
Tag Archives: composer
Hermeto Pascoal
On September 12, 2025. Hermeto Pascoal died aged 89. He was musician (keyboards, accordion, flute, saxophone, guitar), composer and record producer, best known in Brazilian music for his orchestration and improvisation. As leader or member he released 32 albums.
Rick Davies
On September 6, 2025, Richard Davies died aged 81. He was musician (keyboards, harmonica), singer and songwriter, founding member of Rick’s Blues, member of The Lonely Ones, but was best known as founding member, vocalist, keyboardist and composer of Supertramp.
Eddie Palmieri
On August 6, 2025, Eduardo Palmieri died aged 88. He was musician (piano), composer, arranger, and bandleader, regarded as one of the main figures of the Latino music of all times. He was founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive, and created an incredible soundtrack of Latin jazz and explorations of salsa for the Puerto Rican community in New York City. Palmieri recorded and released 45 albums.
Chuck Mangione
On July 22, 2025, Charles Frank Mangione died aged 84. He was musician (flugelhorn, trumpet, piano) and composer, came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey’s band in the 1960s. With his brother Gap, he led the Mangione Brothers Sextet/Quintet, later was member of the band The National Gallery, from 1968 – 1972 was director of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, formed quartet with Gerry Niewood, in the late 70’s he lead ensemble with Chris Vadala, Grant Geissman, Charles Meeks and James Bradley Jr. As leader he released 29th albums.
Lalo Schifrin
On June 26, 2025, Boris Claudio “Lalo” Schifrin died aged 93. He was musician (piano), composer, arranger, and conductor, best known for his work on movie and TV scores, for which he won five “Grammy Awards”. Schifrin recorded, performed and created arrangements for Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith, Cannonball Adderley, Maurice Ander, Count Basie, Louis Bellson, Luiz Bonfa, Candido Camero, Al Hirt, Julia Migenes, Astor Piazzolla, David Shifrin, Placido Domingo, Sarah Vaughan and Cal Tjader. As leader he released 53 studio and live albums, and 43 soundtrack albums.
Rick Derringer
On May 26, 2025, Richard Dean Zehringer aka Rick Derringer, died aged 77. He was musician (guitar), singer and composer, member of McCoys, DNA, Derringers, Derringer Bogert and Appice, recorded and performed with Edgar Winter, Steely Dan, Cyndi Lauper, Ringo Starr, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Johnny Winter, Richie Havens, Thomas Jefferson Kaye, Dan Hartman, Bette Midler, Todd Rundgren, Eddie Schwartz, Donald Fagen, Eye to Eye, Kiss, Bonnie Tyler, Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka, Rosie Vela, Grayson Hugh, Peter Frampton, Joe Bonamassa, Ronnie Montrose and Jon Anderson. As leader, Derringer released fourteen studio and two live albums.
Simon House
On May 24, 2025, Simon House died aged 76. He was musician (violin, keyboards) and composer, performed and recorded with High Tide, Third Ear Band, Thomas Dolby, David Sylvian, Japan, Alan Davey, Nektar, Spiral Realms, Rod Goodway, Denny Gerrard, Robert Calvert, Anubian Lights, Michael Moorcock & The Deep Fix, Adrian Shaw, Earth Lab, Magic Muscle, Bedouin, Astralasia, Spirits Burning, Judy Dyble, Ambient Time Travelers, Mike Oldfield, and David Bowie, but was best known as member of Hawkwind. As leader, House released two albums.
Zakir Hussain
On December 15, 2024, Ustad Zakir Hussain died aged 73. He was musician (tabla, percussion), composer, music producer and film actor, considered as one of the greatest tabla players of all time.Hussain recorded and performed with number of famous musicians, among the others with John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Mickey Hart, Ravi Shankar, Bill Laswell, Shankar Lakshminarayana, Pat Martino, Shakti, John Handy, Pharaoh Sanders, Ali Akbar Khan and Charles Lloyd. For his work he was awarded the “Govt of India’s Sangeet Natak Akademi Award “, “Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship”, “Ratna Sadsya”, and the “United States National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship”. Hussain won four “Grammy Awards”.
Quincy Jones
On November 3, 2024, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. died aged 91. He was musician (trumpet), music producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and producer, with career spanned over 70 years. He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by magazine “Time”.
For his work he received the following awards and honors:
- Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music (1983)
- Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Ray Charles in 1984.
- Grammy Legend Award in 1992
- Garfield High School in Seattle named a performing arts center after him.
- Quincy Jones Elementary School, located in South Central Los Angeles, is named after him.
- Humanitarian Award at the BET Awards in 2008.
- John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.
- National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama on March 2, 2011.
- Los Angeles Press Club Visionary Award in 2014.
- Honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music, London, in 2015.
- Ahmet Ertegun Award in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
- In 2021, Jones was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame as a “foundational inductee”.
- He won 28 Grammy Awards (third in the list of all-time Grammy award wins).
Quincy Jones was producer of “Thriller” by Michael Jackson (1982), the best sold album in music history (more than 51.3 million copies sold).
As leader, Quincy Jones released 40 albums.
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