On May 25, 1984, Eric J. Gale died aged 55. He was musician (guitar) and composer, as session guitarist has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names of the music scene, including Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson, Jimmy McGriff, Benny Golson, Van Morrison, Bernard Purdie, Herbie Mann, Yusuf Lateef, Chico Hamilton, Sonny Stitt, Quincy Jones, Al Kooper, Lena Horn, Gabor Szabo, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Esther Philips, Chuck Rainey, Johnny Hammond, Stanley Turrentine, David Newman, Hank Crawford, Grover Washington, Jr., Roberta Flack, Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, Bob James, Joe Higgs, Van McCoy, Ron Carter, George Benson, Phil Upchurch, Tom Scott, Idris Muhammad, Ashford & Simpson, Cedar Walton, Stanley Turrentine, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Paul Butterfield, Joe Cocker and David Ruffin. As leader he released twelve albums.
Tag Archives: composer
Gil Evans
On March 20, 1988, Ian Ernest Gilmore “Gil” Evans died aged 75. He was musician (piano), arranger, composer and bandleader, had important role in the development of free jazz, cool jazz, modal jazz and jazz fusion. Evans performed and recorded with many important jazz musicians including: Miles Davis, Lee Konitz, Glen Hall, Steve Lacy, Claude Thornhill, Johnny Mathis, Hal McKusick, Marcy Lutes, Helen Merill, Don Elliot, Astrud Gilberto and Kenny Burrell. In 1986, Evans was inducted into the “Down Beat” “Jazz Hall of Fame”. He won two “Grammy Awards” – in1960: “Sketches of Spain”, “Grammy Award for Best Original Jazz Composition” with Miles Davis; in 1986: “Bud and Bird”, “Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band”.
Keith Emerson
On March 11, 2016, Keith Noel Emerson died aged 71. He was composer and keyboardist, member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown’s Bodies, Gary Farr and the T-Bones, The V.I.P.’s, P. P. Arnold and The Nice, but he was best known as founding member and keyboardist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Emerson is widely regarded as the greatest keyboardist in the history of rock music.
Grover Washington
On December 17, 1999, Grover Washington, Jr. died aged 56. He was musician (saxophone), composer and arranger, considered to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. Some of his most popular works feature his own compositions and covers of “Mister Magic”, “Take Five”, “Soulful Strut”, “Reed Seed”, “Black Frost”, “Winelight”, “Inner City Blues” and “The Best is Yet to Come”. In his career he has performed and recorded with many famous musicians, including Kathleen Battle, Kenny Burrell, Hank Crawford, Charles Earland, Dexter Gordon, Urbie Green, Eddie Henderson, Masaru Imada, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Idris Muhammad, Gerry Mulligan, Don Sebesky, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Melvin Sparks, Leon Spencer, Mal Waldron, Randy Weston, Bill Withers and Patti LaBelle.
Lester Bowie
On November 8, 1999, Lester Bowie died aged 58. He was musician (trumpet) and composer, best known as co-founder and member of one of the most important groups in jazz history, “Art Ensemble of Chicago”. He was a also member of the” Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians”, “Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy”, “The Leaders” and “Lester Bowie’s Organ Ensemble”. In his career Bowie has performed and recorded with many big names of the popular and jazz music, among them Archie Shepp,David Murray, Jack DeJohnette, Fela Kuti, Kahil El’Zabar, Defunkt, David Bowie, Sunny Murray, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Kirk Lightsey, Cecil McBee, James Carter, Brigitte Fontaine, Melvin Jackson, Wadada Leo Smith, Jimmy Lyons, Little Milton, Albert King, Solomon Burke, Joe Tex and Rufus Thomas.
Phill Woods
On September 29, 2015, Philip Wells Woods died aged 83. He was a musician (alto saxophone, clarinet) composer, bandleader, in his almost 60 years long career, he has performed with some of the biggest names of jazz and popular music, including Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Donald Byrd, Gene Quill, Hal Stein, Sahib Shihab, Michel Legrand, Lew Tabackin, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Gordon Beck, Benjamin Koppel, Alex Riel, Grace Kelly, Monty Alexander, Evan Gregor, Bill Goodwin, and Jordan Perlson.
Arthur Lee
On August 3, 2006, Arthur Lee died aged 61. He was musician (guitar) and composer, best known as founding member and leader of the band Love. Lee is composer of all the tracks (except of two) on the band’s 67’s album “Forever changes”, highly acclaimed by the critics and regarded as one of the best albums in the rock history.
Fela Kuti
On August 2, 1997, Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti aka Fela Kuti, died aged 58. He was musician (saxophone, keyboards, trumpet, guitar, drums), singer, composer, human rights and political activist, one of the pioneers of the Afrobeat music style and one of the biggest propagators of the African music worldwide.
Henry Mancini
On June 14, 1994, Enrico Nicola “Henry” Mancini, died aged 70. He was composer, arranger and conductor, best known for his movie and television music. His most popular work is “The Pink Panther Theme”, main score to the movie series “Pink Panther”, and the theme to the “Peter Gunn” television series. He achieved a long lasting collaboration with the famous movie director Blake Edwards. For his work he has won four “Academy Awards”, “Golden Globe”, twenty “Grammy Awards” and a posthumous “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award” in 1995.
James Last
On June 9, 2015, Hans Last aka James Last (also known as “Hansi”) died aged 86. He was composer and big band leader, best known for his “happy music”, an upbeat, easy-listening covers of classical music, polka, rock, pop and soul hits with his big band. His work was denied by the music critics but the audience loved his music, especially in United Kingdom and in his native Germany. In his five decades long career, Last released more than 190 albums and sold more than 80 millions album copies worldwide, becoming the most successful commercial big band leader after the second World War Two.
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