MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN NOVEMBER 2020
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN NOVEMBER 2020
NOVEMBER 1
PEDRO ITURRALDE (91) / SPANISH SAXOPHONIST, CLARINETIST, FLUTIST, COMPOSER, ARRANGER, TEACHER. FIRST SAX JOB AT 11. STUDIED CLARINET, PIANO, HARMONY AT THE ROYAL CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC IN MADRID. LED OWN QUARTET COMBINING FLAMENCO AND JAZZ. RECORDED FOR THE BLUE NOTE RECORDS. 1972 STUDIED HARMONY AND ARRANGING AT THE BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC IN BOSTON. 1978-1994 TAUGHT SAXOPHONE AT THE MADRID CONSERVATORY. WORKED WITH SERGIU CELIBIDACHE AND IGOR MARKEVITCH.
JANUSZ SZUBER (72) / POLISH POET. DEBUTED LATE, BEFORE HE WAS FIFTY. RECOGNIZED AND VALUED BY OTHER GREAT POLISH POETS LIKE CZESŁAW MIŁOSZ, WISŁAWA SZYMBORSKA, ZBIGNIEW HERBERT. A YEAR AGO HE RELEASED AN ALBUM OF HIS WORK TITLED "W CENTRUM ŹRENICY" ("IN THE CENTER OF A PUPIL"), A KIND OF JAZZ AND POETRY PROJECT. IT WAS RECORDED AT HIS HOME AS HE WAS DISABLED MOST OF HIS LIFE. HE READ 18 OF HIS POEMS ACCOMPANIED BY THREE MUSICIANS. TWO MORE ALBUMS WERE PLANNED BUT IT IS NOT KNOWN IF THEY WERE MADE OR NOT.
NOVEMBER 2
BARON WOLMAN (83) / AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER, INTERESTED IN MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY AND KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH THE ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE. STARTED PHOTOGRAPHING PROFESSINALLY WHEN STATIONED IN WEST BERLIN WITH U.S. ARMY. IN 1967, WHEN HE WAS 30, HE MET JAN WENNER, A CALIFORNIA STUDENT (21), WHO WAS PLANNING FOUNDING A POPULAR CULTURE MAGAZINE WITH A MUSIC CRITIC RALPH J. GLEASON. BYRON WORKED FOR FREE BUT HAD A CHANCE TO PHOTOGRAPH LOTS OF THE GREAT ROCK AND POP STARS INCLUDING JIMI HENDRIX, JANIS JOPLIN, JOAN BAEZ, BOB DYLAN, FRANK ZAPPA, GRATEFUL DEAD, THE WHO, IGGY POP, PINK FLOYD, ROLLING STONES, JIM MORRISON, PHIL SPECTOR. BYRON WAS ROLLING STONE'S MAIN PHOTOGRAPHER FROM 1967 TILL LATE 1970 AND PREFERRED INFORMAL PORTRAITURE PHOTOGRAPHY. THEN HE STARTED HIS OWN COUNTERCULTURE FASHION MAGAZINE RAGS (13 ISSUES, JUNE 1970- JUNE 1971). HE LATER DID SOME AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FROM HIS CESSNA AND DOCUMENTED FOOTBALL.
NOVEMBER 4
KEN HENSLEY (75) / ENGLISH SINGER-SONGWRITER, MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST AND PRODUCER WHO WORKED WITH MANY BANDS BUT IS ESPECIALLY KNOWN AS A MEMBER OF URIAH HEEP IN THE 1970's. HIS FIRST BAND WAS THE GODS IN WHICH HE PLAYED WITH DRUMMER LEE KERSLAKE (DIED IN SEPTEMBER). IN URIAH HEEP HENSLEY PLAYED KEYBOARDS, ACOUSTIC AND SLIDE GUITARS, SANG BACKING AND SOMETIMES LEAD AND WAS THE BAND'S MAIN SONGWRITER. HE WROTE OR CO-WROTE HIT SINGLES LIKE "LADY IN BLACK", "EASY LIVIN'", "STEALIN'", "LOOK AT YOURSELF".
NOVEMBER 7
CANDIDO CAMERO (99) / CUBAN PERCUSSIONIST, CONGA AND BONGO MASTER, PLAYED ALSO TRES, ACOUSTIC BASS AND DRUMS. THE FIRST TO PLAY MULTIPLE CONGA DRUMS, WORKED IN THE FIELD OF AFRO-CUBAN MUSIC, LATIN JAZZ BUT ALSO POP, ROCK, R&B AND DISCO. MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY IN THE MID-1940's AND WORKED WITH MACHITO AND HIS AFRO-CUBANS, DIZZY GILLESPIE, BILLY TAYLOR TRIO, STAN KENTON. RECORDED FOR LABELS LIKE BLUE NOTE, PRESTIGE, ROULETTE, VERVE, ARGO, MERCURY WITH GIANTS LIKE DUKE ELLINGTON, COLEMAN HAWKINS, SONNY ROLLINS, ART BLAKEY, ERROLL GARNER, ELVIN JONES, RANDY WESTON, WYNTON KELLY, WES MONTGOMERY, KENNY BURRELL, GRANT GREEN, RAY BRYANT, ILLINOIS JACQUET, GARY McFARLAND, JATP (JAZZ AT THE PHILHARMONIC), TITO PUENTE, BENNIE GREEN, DON ELLIOTT, LECUONA CUBAN BOYS AND OTHERS.
NOVEMBER 10
ALEC BAILLIE / AMERICAN BASS GUITARIST PLAYING PUNK ROCK AND SKA PUNK. DEBUTED IN THE EARLY 1990's IN AGENT 99, A THIRD WAVE SKA BAND LEAVING A COMPILATION ALBUM LITTLE PIECES 1993-1995. THEN IN EPHEMERAL PUNK GROUP NO COMMERCIAL VALUE, THEN JOINED THE PUNK BAND CHOKING VICTIM, WHICH PLAYED A MIX OF HARDCORE PUNK AND SKA. AFTER THE CHOKING VICTIM'S BREAKUP SOME BAND MEMBERS FORMED LEFTÖVER CRACK MIXING HARDCORE PUNK, SKA PUNK, CRUST PUNK AND, LIKE CHOKING VICTIM, CRACK ROCK STEADY (A COMBINATION OF CRUST PUNK, BLACK METAL, SKA PUNK AND SOMETIMES CLASSICAL MUSIC). LEFTÖVER CRACK IS RECENTLY SIGNED TO ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES AND FAT WRECK CHORDS.
NOVEMBER 11
ANDREW WHITE (78) / (ANDREW NATHANIEL WHITE III) AMERICAN JAZZ AND R&B MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST, MUSICOLOGIST, COMPOSER, TRANSCRIBER, ARRANGER, CONDUCTOR, WRITER AND PUBLISHER. PLAYED ALTO AND TENOR SAXOPHONES, OBOE AND BASS GUITAR. STUDIED AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON D.C. (1960-1964), THEN AT THE PARIS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC. STILL A STUDENT, WHITE FORMED THE JFK QUINTET (TWO ALBUMS ON RIVERSIDE RECORDS). APPEARED AND RECORDED WITH KENNY CLARKE, OTIS REDDING, McCOY TYNER, THE ELVIN JONES MACHINE, BEAVER HARRIS, STANLEY TURRENTINE, THE JULIUS HEMPHILL SAXOPHONE SEXTET, THE SIX WINDS DUTCH SAXOPHONE SEXTET (WHICH ALSO HAD BILL SMITH, JOHN TCHICAI, KAZUTOKI UMEZU). PRINCIPAL OBOIST FOR THE AMERICAN BALLET THEATER. AS A BASS PLAYER MAINLY WITH STEVIE WONDER, THE 5TH DIMENSION, WEATHER REPORT. STARTED HIS OWN RECORD LABEL ANDREW'S MUSIC (ANDREW WHITE'S MUSICAL ENTERPRISES INC. WITH A CATALOG OF 2,900 ITEMS) AND RAN IT FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS (ABOUT 50 RELEASES). THE SELF-PROCLAIMED "KEEPER OF THE 'TRANE", THROUGH ANDREW'S MUSIC HE PUBLISHED ALSO 14 VOLUMES OF THE WORKS OF JOHN COLTRANE INCLUDING 701 TRANSCRIPTIONS OF COLTRANE'S IMPROVISATIONS (ALTOGEHTER DID 840 TRANSCRIPTIONS), TRANE 'n' ME: A SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHY. A TREATISE ON THE MUSIC OF JOHN COLTRANE (1981), 800-PAGE AUTOBIOGRAPHY EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUGAR AND I, EDUCATOR. WHITE ALSO TRANSCRIBED CHARLIE PARKER AND ERIC DOLPHY SOLOS. TAUGHT SEMINARS, CONDUCTED JAZZ WORKSHOPS.
NOVEMBER 18
TONY HOOPER (81) / ENGLISH SINGER-SONGWRITER AND MUSICIAN, FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE ENGLISH ROCK GROUP STRAWBS WITH DAVE COUSINS AND ARTHUR PHILLIPS. THEY STARTED IN 1964 AS STRAWBERRY HILL BOYS PLAYING BLUEGRASS. LATER CHANGED THE NAME TO STRAWBS OR THE STRAWBS AND PLAYED FOLK ROCK, PROGRESSIVE ROCK AND EVEN GLAM ROCK. BECAUSE THE BAND WAS DRIFTING AWAY FROM FOLK, HOOPER LEFT IN 1972 AFTER THE GRAVE NEW WORLD ALBUM, JUST A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE BAND HAD TWO BIG HITS "PART OF THE UNION" AND "LAY DOWN". BUT DURING HIS STAY, STRAWBS HAD VERY MANY INTERESTING COOPERATIONS WITH SANDY DENNY, SONJA KRISTINA, LINDSAY COOPER, RICK WAKEMAN AND OTHERS. HOOPER REJOINED IN 1983 AND STAYED FOR TEN YEARS. HE ALSO PLAYED WITH BANDS MISALLIANCE AND PITCHFORK.
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