On September 28, 2024, Kristoffer Kristofferson died aged 88 years. He was musician (guitar, harmonica), singer, composer and actor. His best known songs are “Me and Bobby McGee”, “For the Good Times”, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”, and “Help Me Make It Through the Night”. Kristofferson has won three “Grammy Awards” and received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2014. As leader he released twenty-one albums.
Tag Archives: composer
Sérgio Santos Mendes
On September 5, 2024, Sérgio Santos Mendes died aged 83. He was musician (piano), bandleader, composer and arranger, founder and leader of the bands Sexteto Bossa Rio and Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’65, known for playing bossa nova crossed with funk. He won three “Grammy Awards and as leader released 44 albums.
Tore Ylvisaker
On August 16, 2024, Tore Ylvisaker died aged 54. He was musician (piano, keyboards), composer and record producer, member of bands Origami Republika, Jungle Medics, and Sadomaoistan, but was best known as member of Ulver.
Carla Bley
On October 17, 2023, Lovella May Borg, aka Carla Bley died aged 87. She was composer, musician (piano, organ) and bandleader, one of the most important figures in the free jazz movement of the 1960s. Bley started the record label “JCOA “, who recorded over two dozen important albums between 1966 and 2019, and became a pioneer in the development of independent artist-owned record labels. As leader, she released 29 albums, including her magnum opus, the jazz opera “Escalator over the Hill”.
Mo Foster
On July 3, 2023, Michael Ralph “Mo” Foster died aged 79. He was multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, author, and public speaker. In his career spanning over half a century, Foster recorded and performed with dozens of artists, including Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Brian May, Scott Walker, Frida (of ABBA), Cliff Richard, Van Morrison, Dr John, Hank Marvin, Heaven 17, the London Symphony Orchestra, Peter Green, Micheal Schenker, Gary Moore, Sting, Cher, Olivia Newton John, Elkie Brroks, Neil Innes, Judie Tzuke, Sheena Easton, Meat Loaf, Trevor Rabin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Luka Bloom, Tim Rice, Nigel Kennedy, Affinity, Mike d’Abo, Roger Glover, Jimmy Helms. Fancy, Veronique Sanson, Mike Smith, Cerrone, Ray Russell, Andy Bown, The Walker Brothers, Chris Rainbow, Dollar, Dennis Waterman, Eric Clapton, RMS, Bob Geldof, Joe Walsh, Tony Banks, Leo Sayer, Russ Ballard, Claudio Baglioni, Kenny Rogers, Howard Jones, Tanita Tikaram, Georger Martin, Nancy Griffith and Maggie Bell. As leader, Foster released several albums, and authored a humorous book on the history of British rock guitar. In 2014, he was awarded with the “BASCA Gold Badge Award”.
Gordon Lightfoot
On May 1, 2023, Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. died aged 84. He was musician (guitar), composer and singer, regarded as the greatest Canadian songwriter. He is one of the artists who helped in defining of the folk-pop sound of the 60’ and 70’. As leader he released 20 studio and 3 live albums.
Ahmad Jamal
On April 16, 2023, Ahmad Jamal died aged 92. He was musician (piano), composer, bandleader, and educator, one of the most successful small-group leaders and one of the most important artists in jazz history. For his work Jamal received many awards including:
- 1959: Entertainment Award, Pittsburgh Junior Chamber of Commerce
- 1980: Distinguished Service Award, City of Washington D.C., Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
- 1986: Mellon Jazz Festival Salutes Ahmad Jamal, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 1987: Honorary Membership, Philippines Jazz Foundation
- 1994: American Jazz Masters award, National Endowment for the Arts
- 2001: Arts & Culture Recognition Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women
- 2001: Kelly-Strayhorn Gallery of Stars, for Achievements as Pianist and Composer, East Liberty Quarter Chamber of Commerce
- 2003: American Jazz Hall of Fame, New Jersey Jazz Society
- 2003: Gold Medallion, Steinway & Sons 150 Years Celebration
- 2007: Living Jazz Legend, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- 2007: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, French government
- 2011: Down Beat Hall of Fame, 76th Readers Poll
- 2015: Honorary Doctorate of Music, The New England Conservatory
- 2017: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, The Recording Academy
- 2018: Leopolis Jazz Music Awards Leopolis Jazz Fest, Lviv
As leader, Jamal released 69 albums.
Duško Gojković
On April 5, 2023, Duško Gojković died aged 91. He was musician (trumpet), composer and arranger. Regarded as one of the best jazz trumpet players in the world, he recorded and performed with many famous musicians, including Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Oscar Pettiford, Maynard Ferguson, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, Duke Jordan, Slide Hampton, Rolf Ericson, Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland and Woody Herman. In 1966, he released “Swinging Macedonia”, which is regarded as the definitive album of the Balkan’s jazz music. As leader, Gojković released 32 albums.
Ryuichi Sakamoto
On March 28, 2023, Ryuichi Sakamoto died aged 71. He was musician (piano, keyboards, synthesizers), singer, composer, record producer and artist, who first came to prominence as member of Yellow Magic Orchestra, but was best known for his eclectic solo career, straddled experimentalism, electronic, pop and movie music. His work influenced a number of various electronic music genres. He collaborated with big number of musicians, including David Sylvian, David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Thomas Dolby, Adrian Belew, Robin Scott, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Arto Lindsay, Youssou N’Dor, Jill Jones, Robert Wyatt, Brian Wilson and Robbie Robertson. Sakamoto was an “Oscar” winner for “Best Original Score”, for the soundtrack of Bernardo Bertolucci’s movie “The Last Emperor”. As leader, he released 23 albums.
Angelo Daniel Badalamenti
On December 11, 2022, Angelo Daniel Badalamenti died aged 85. He was composer and arranger, recorded songs with David Bowie, Nina Simone, Tim Booth, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, Julee Cruise, Marianne Faithfull, Siouxsie Sioux and Dolores O’Riordan, but was best known for composing film music. He collaborated with director David Lynch, notably “Blue Velvet”, the “Twin Peaks” saga, “The Straight Story” and “Mulholland Drive”. In 1990, Badalamenti received “Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance” for his “Twin Peaks Theme”. In 2008, Badalamenti received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the “World Soundtrack Awards’s Academy”, and in 2011, the “Henry Mancini Award” from the “American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers”.
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