Notable Deaths 2016

What was it our right royal queen called it..? Annus Horribilis. We don’t think there is any doubt that 2016 has been an unprecedented 12 months for the loss of some of our beloved and revered musicians. One or two losses may have been expected for a while whilst others have stunned us into total shock as we had no previous idea.
If you trawl online, some people have tried to explain why there have been more deaths in 2016 than for many previous years before and we’ll leave those explanations to them.

The power of music does come to the fore when you see music fans openly weeping or shaking their head in disbelief when they hear the news that their idol has died. And it is somewhat of a cliché when we say that a musician (who we have probably never met on a social basis) who has died, feels like a family member.
The connection with the music can be so personal when you’re sitting at home or on the bus or alone in your car listening to what that artist has to say. So when they do pass, it does feel like a huge hole in our lives.

We at UK Vibe would like to take a moment to honour the lives of those musicians who did sadly pass away this year. Not all are jazz musicians but all have touched our individual lives and understanding of the music that we love.
We simply encourage you to keep that spirit alive by keep buying & playing the music and also introducing the sound that you have come to love so much to others.

Remember not all artists who have given of themselves, sometimes selflessly, die as wealthy individuals. A lot of them die as paupers. Some of them even homeless and unfortunately some not of sound mind. We salute them all and thank them for enriching our lives and for bringing so much joy into a sometimes bleak and joyless world.

May they rest in rhythmic peace.

[26 Dec] Alphonse Mouzon, 68, American jazz drummer
[22 Dec] Carlos Averhoff, 69, Cuban jazz saxophonist
[21 Dec] Betty Loo Taylor, 87, American jazz pianist
[22 Dec] Sven Zetterberg, 64, Swedish blues musician
[13 Dec] Ahuva Ozeri, 68, Israeli singer
[12 Dec] Barrelhouse Chuck, 58, American blues musician
[06 Dec] Michael White, 83, American violinist and composer
[03 Dec] Herbert Hardesty, 91 American jazz musician

[28 Nov] Carlton Kitto, 74, Indian jazz guitarist
[29 Nov] Allan Zavod, 71, Australian composer and jazz musician
[24 Nov] Shirley Bunnie Foy, 80, American jazz musician
[20 Nov] Hod O’Brien, 80, American jazz pianist
[18 Nov] Sharon Jones, 60, American singer
[15 Nov] Mose Allison, 89, American jazz pianist, singer and songwriter
[02 Nov] Bob Cranshaw, 83, American jazz bassist (Blue Note Records / Musicians Union)

[27 Oct] Bobby Wellins, 80, Scottish jazz saxophonist
[18 Oct] Mike Daniels, 88, British jazz trumpeter and bandleader

[26 Sep] Karel Růžička, 76, Czech jazz pianist, Anděl Award winner
[08 Sep] Prince Buster, 78, Jamaican ska musician
[07 Sep] Clifford Curry, 79, American Soul/folk/beach singer (The Notations)

[29 Aug] Michael Di Pasqua, 63, American jazz drummer
[25 Aug] Rudy Van Gelder, 91, American recording engineer
[22 Aug] Toots Thielemans, 94, Belgian jazz guitarist, whistler and harmonica player
[20 Aug] Louis Smith, 85, American jazz trumpeter
[20 Aug] Louis Stewart, 72, Irish jazz guitarist
[19 Aug] Derek Smith, 85, British jazz pianist
[15 Aug] Bobby Hutcherson, 75, American jazz musician
[13 Aug] Connie Crothers, 75, American jazz pianist

[25 Jul] Allan Barnes, 66, American jazz saxophonist (The Blackbyrds)
[22 Jul] Dominic Duval, 71, American free jazz bassist
[16 Jul] Claude Williamson, 89, American jazz pianist
[15 Jul] Charles Davis, 83, American jazz saxophonist
[15 Jul] Roland Prince, 69, Antiguan jazz guitarist

[30 June] Don Friedman, 81, American jazz pianist
[26 June] Mike Pedicin, 98, American jazz bandleader
[23 June] Shelley Moore, 84, British-born American jazz singer
[17 June] Willy Andresen, 94, Norwegian jazz pianist
[13 June] Randy Jones, 72, British-born American jazz musician

[16 May] Fredrik Norén, 75, Swedish jazz drummer
[14 May] Paul Smoker, 75, American jazz trumpeter
[13 May] Buster Cooper, 87, American jazz trombonist
[11 May] Joe Temperley, 86, Scottish saxophonist (Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra)
[01 May] Doug Raney, 59, American jazz guitarist

[24 Apr] Billy Paul, 81, American R&B singer
[24 Apr] Papa Wemba, 66, Congolese singer
[21 Apr] Prince, 57, American musician, songwriter
[13 Apr] Pete Yellin, 74, American jazz saxophonist and educator
[13 Apr] Jeremy Steig, 73, American jazz flutist
[05 Apr] Leon Haywood, 74, American funk and soul singer
[05 Apr] Zena Latto, 90, American jazz saxophonist
[04 Apr] Getatchew Mekurya, 81, Ethiopian jazz saxophonist
[03 Apr] Bill Henderson, 90, American jazz vocalist
[03 Apr] Don Francks, 84, Canadian jazz vocalist
[02 Apr] Gato Barbieri, 83, Argentine jazz saxophonist

[26 Mar] Joe Shepley, 85, American jazz trumpeter
[26 Mar] David Baker, 84, American jazz musician
[24 Mar] Roger Cicero, 45, German jazz and pop musician
[23 Mar] Jimmy Riley, 68, Jamaican reggae musician
[22 Mar] Phife Dawg, 45, American rapper (A Tribe Called Quest)
[11 Mar] Joe Ascione, 54, American jazz drummer
[10 Mar] Ernestine Anderson, 87, American jazz vocalist
[09 Mar] Naná Vasconcelos, 71, Brazilian jazz percussionist and vocalist, eight-time Grammy Award winner
[08 Mar] Claus Ogerman, 86, German jazz conductor and arranger
[07 Mar] Joe Cabot, 94, American jazz musician and band leader
[03 Mar] Gavin Christopher, 66, American R&B singer, songwriter, musician, and producer (Curtom Records)

[25 Feb] John Chilton, 83, British jazz musician and writer
[23 Feb] Rey Caney, 89, Cuban musician
[19 Feb] Harald Devold, 51, Norwegian jazz musician
[14 Feb] L. C. Ulmer, 87, American blues musician
[04 Feb] Maurice White, 74, American songwriter and musician (Earth, Wind & Fire)

[08 Jan] Otis Clay, 73, American R&B and soul singer
[05 Jan] Nicholas Caldwell, 71, American R&B singer (The Whispers)
[04 Jan] Long John Hunter, 84, American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter