MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN SEPTEMBER 2020
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN SEPTEMBER 2020
SEPTEMBER 5
GARY PEACOCK (85) / AMERICAN JAZZ MUSICIAN, PLAYED DOUBLE BASS BUT ALSO DRUMS AND PIANO. OFTEN PLAYED IN THE TRIO CONTEXT, MOST FAMOUSLY WITH KEITH JARRETT AND JACK DeJOHNETTE (22 ALBUMS, ALL FOR ECM), WITH ALBERT AYLER, ESPECIALLY ON HIS MASTERPIECE SPIRITUAL UNITY (WITH SUNNY MURRAY) ON ESP-Disk, WITH BILL EVANS (TRIO 64), WITH PAUL BLEY, WITH MAL WALDRON (FIRST ENCOUNTER), WITH MARILYN CRISPELL, WITH CLARE FISHER, WITH DON PULLEN, WITH MASABUMI KIKUCHI AND PAUL MOTIAN AS TETHERED MOON AND ALSO WITH HIS OWN TRIO WITH MARC COPLAND AND JOEY BARON. HIS OTHER COLLABORATIONS WERE WITH TONY SCOTT, BUD SHANK, ART PEPPER, BARNEY KESSEL, DON ELLIS, PRINCE LASHA, SONNY SIMMONS, ANNETTE PEACOCK, JIMMY GIUFFRE, ROLAND KIRK, GEORGE RUSSELL, ARCHIE SHEPP, MILES DAVIS, LEE KONITZ, DON CHERRY, JOHN TCHICAI, ROSWELL RUDD, RAVI SHANKAR, TONY WILLIAMS, HERBIE HANCOCK, WAYNE SHORTER, SAM RIVERS, BILL FRISELL, JIMMY WOODS AND MANY OTHERS. AS A BASS PLAYER GARY PEACOCK WAS INFLUENCED BY PAUL CHAMBERS, RAY BROWN AND HIS OWN FRIEND SCOTT LaFARO.
SEPTEMBER 8
SIMEON (82) / (BORN SIMEON COXE) AMERICAN MUSICIAN, A PIONEER OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC. IN THE 1960's A SINGER OF THE ROCK GROUP THE OVERLAND STAGE ELECTRIC BAND USING AN AUDIO OSCILLATOR MADE IN THE 1940's. THEN, IN 1967, WITH THE BAND'S DRUMMER DANNY TAYLOR, FORMED AN ELECTRONIC DUO SILVER APPLES. AT THAT TIME THEY USED NINE AUDIO OSCILLATORS WITH EIGHTY SIX MANUAL CONTROLS. THEIR DEBUT ALBUM SILVER APPLES WAS RELEASED IN 1968 BY THE INDEPENDENT LABEL KAPP RECORDS. 1969 MARKED THEIR SECOND LP CONTACT AND THE US TOUR. CONTACT WAS WITHDRAWN FROM THE RECORD STORES DUE TO THE LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST THE SILVER APPLES BY THE PAN AM AIRLINE. IN 1970 THE THIRD ALBUM WAS RECORDED BUT NOT RELEASED AND THE BAND BROKE UP. SIMEON REFORMED IT IN 1996.
SEPTEMBER 9
RONALD BELL (68) / AMERICAN COMPOSER, SAXOPHONIST, SINGER, KEYBOARDIST, SONGWRITER, ARRANGER, PRODUCER AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF KOOL & THE GANG. HIS FATHER WAS A PROFESSIONAL BOXER AND FRIENDS WITH MILES DAVIS AND THELONIOUS MONK. RONALD BELL AND HIS BROTHER ROBERT GOT INTO JAZZ AT 5. AT 12 STARTED A JAZZ SOUL FUNK BAND THE JAZZIACS WHO FOUR YEARS LATER BECAME KOOL & THE GANG. BELL WROTE AND PRODUCED HITS "CELEBRATION", "CHERISH", "OPEN SESAME", "JUNGLE BOOGIE", "SUMMER MADNESS". THE BAND HAD 9 R&B NUMBER ONE HITS.
SID McCRAY / (AKA SIDMAC) AMERICAN HARDCORE PUNK AND JAZZ FUSION MUSICIAN. SINGER OF THE JAZZ GROUP MIND POWER, GOT THE OTHER BAND MEMBERS INTO PUNK ROCK AND SO THEY FORMED THE PIONEERING HARDCORE PUNK BAND BAD BRAINS WITH SID BEING THE ORIGINAL LEAD SINGER. HE WOULD SOON LEAVE AND HR TOOK HIS PLACE, BUT REMAINED CLOSE TO THE BAD BRAINS, ALSO IN THEIR ROAD CREW. SID McCRAY SOMETIMES REUNITED AND PERFORMED WITH THE BRAINS. LIKE IN 2017 AT A SECRET BAD BRAINS GIG DURING THE OPENING OF DARRYL JENIFER'S ART SHOW WHEN HE JOINED HR, DR. KNOW, EARL HUDSON AND DARRYL. THE GROUP WAS SUPPORTED BY ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS INCLUDING JAMIE SAFT AND CHOGYI (RICHIE HAVENS' GRANDSON) WITH GUEST APPEARANCE OF LAMB OF GOD'S RANDY BLYTHE. SID McCRAY SANG THE BAD BRAINS CLASSIC "REGULATOR".
SEPTEMBER 11
TOOTS HIBBERT (77) / JAMAICAN SINGER, SONGWRITER, LEAD VOCALIST OF SKA AND ROCKSTEADY BAND TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS. IN 1962 AT 19 HIBBERT CO-FOUNDED THE MAYTALS (THEN A VOCAL TRIO). BACKED BY THE SKATALITES THEY RECORDED FOR CLEMENT "COXSONE" DODD AND HIS STUDIO ONE. IN 1966 HAD A HIT SONG "BAM BAM" AND WAS SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION. WROTE "54-46 THAT'S MY NUMBER" ABOUT HIS TIME IN PRISON, LATER COVERED BY ASWAD, YELLOWMAN, SKA-PUNK SUBLIME, BUJU BANTON, BYRON LEE &THE DRAGONAIRES, SKA / JAZZ GUITARIST ERNEST RANGLIN AND THE CLASH PAID TRIBUTE IN THEIR "JAIL GUITAR DOORS". THEN IN 1968 HIBBERT WROTE "DO THE REGGAY", THE FIRST SONG USING THE NAME REGGAE AND STARTING A NEW GENRE. IN 1969 THE MAYTALS RECORDED "PRESSURE DROP" A BIG HIT USED IN THE 1972 FILM THE HARDER THEY COME, BRINGING REGGAE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD AND LATER COVERED BY THE SPECIALS, THE CLASH, KEITH RICHARDS, IZZY STRADLIN, THE OPPRESSED. IN THE FILM, TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS PERFORM "SWEET AND DANDY", ANOTHER GREAT HIT BY HIBBERT. SINCE THE 1980's HE ALSO HAD A SOLO CAREER.
SEPTEMBER 16
STANLEY CROUCH (74) / AMERICAN MUSIC CRITIC, POET, JOURNALIST, NOVELIST, BIOGRAPHER, JAZZ DRUMMER. AT 22 POET-IN-RESIDENCE AT PITZER COLLEGE. STARTED DRUMMING WITH DAVID MURRAY IN THEIR GROUP BLACK MUSIC INFINITY AND SUPPORTED THE UNDERGROUND NEW YORK LOFT JAZZ SCENE. FRIENDS WITH RALPH ELLISON AND ALBERT MURRAY, SHARED THEIR CONSERVATIVE VIEWS REGARDING JAZZ. ADVOCATED TRADITIONALISM, MENTORED WYNTON MARSALIS SINCE HIS TEENS. WROTE LINER NOTES FOR MARSALIS SINCE HIS DEBUT ALBUM IN 1982. WAS CRITICAL OF GANGSTA RAP, ALEX HALEY, SPIKE LEE, AMIRI BARAKA AND AVANTGARDE AND FUSION JAZZ.
SEPTEMBER 19
DAVE KUSWORTH (60) / ENGLISH PUNK ROCK, INDIE ROCK SINGER, SONGWRITER, GUITARIST. AT 16, INSPIRED BY THE STOOGES AND THE NEW YORK DOLLS, FOUNDED TV EYE, THE FIRST BIRMINGHAM PUNK ROCK / GARAGE PUNK. IN 1977 TV EYE MADE RECORDINGS (THEIR LOST DEBUT ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN 2017). LATER KUSWORTH PLAYED WITH THE HAWKS, RAG DOLLS (THREE STUDIO SESSIONS 1982-1984), DOGS D"AMOUR, THE JACOBITES, THE BOUNTY HUNTERS, THE TENDERHOOKS, DAVE KUSWORTH GROUP. JACOBITES WERE A POST-PUNK / ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND KUSWORTH FORMED IN 1984 WITH NIKKI SUDDEN AND HIS BROTHER EPIC SOUNDTRACKS OF EXPERIMENTAL DIY PUNK ROCK, EARLY POST-PUNK GROUP SWELL MAPS. THEY MADE TWO ALBUMS JACOBITES AND ROBESPIERRE'S VELVET BASEMENT, BROKE UP IN 1986, REUNITED 1993 MAKING THREE MORE ALBUMS HOWLING GOOD TIMES, OLD SCARLETT, GOD SAVE US POOR SINNERS PLUS KISS OF LIFE IN GERMANY AND HEART OF HEARTS IN SPAIN. DAVE KUSWORTH MADE SOLO ALBUMS ALL THE HEARTBREAK STORIES (1991) AND PRINCESS THOUSAND BEAUTY (1996).
LEE KERSLAKE (73) / ENGLISH ROCK DRUMMER KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH URIAH HEEP AND OZZY OSBOURNE. STARTED WITH THE PSYCHEDELIC ROCK GROUP THE GODS IN 1967. THE GODS HAD MEMBERS THAT BECAME FAMOUS MICK TAYLOR (JOHN MAYALL'S BLUESBREAKERS, THE ROLLING STONES), KEN HENSLEY (URIAH HEEP), JOHN GLASCOCK (JETHRO TULL), GREG LAKE (KING CRIMSON, EMERSON LAKE & PALMER). IN 1969 KERSLAKE, HENSLEY AND GLASCOCK WERE IN TOE FAT. KERSLAKE LEFT TO JOIN THE NATIONAL HEAD BAND AND THEN URIAH HEEP (IN NOVEMBER 1971). IN 1980 HE JOINED OZZY OSBOURNE'S BLIZZARD OF OZZ AFTER OZZY HAD BEEN FIRED FROM BLACK SABBATH IN 1979. THEY RECORDED BLIZZARD OF OZZ AND DIARY OF A MADMAN WITH KERSLAKE AND BASSIST BOB DAISLEY UNCREDITED AND THEN FIRED FROM THE BAND BY SHARON OSBOURNE. DAISLEY AND KERSLAKE SUED OZZY AND SHARON WINNING CREDITS AND ROYALTIES. IN 1982 KERSLAKE REJOINED URIAH HEEP AND LEFT IN 2007 DUE TO ILL HEALTH. IN 2011 HE FORMED BERGGREN KERSLAKE BAND.
SEPTEMBER 21
IRA SULLIVAN (89) / AMERICAN JAZZ MUSICIAN, MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST, PLAYED TRUMPET, FLUGELHORN, FLUTE, SOPRANO, ALTO AND BARITONE SAXOPHONES. IN THE 1950's PLAYED WITH CHARLIE PARKER, LESTER YOUNG, WARDELL GRAY, ROY ELDRIDGE, THEN IN 1956 WITH ART BLAKEY. MOVED TO MIAMI AND WORKED WITH JACO PASTORIUS AND PAT METHENY. MOVED TO NEW YORK AND IN 1980 STARTED A QUINTET WITH BE BOP TRUMPET PLAYER RED RODNEY (REAL NAME ROBERT CHUDNICK). THEY MADE SEVEN ALBUMS TOGETHER. IRA SULLIVAN ALSO WORKED AND RECORDED WITH ROLAND KIRK, PHILLY JOE JONES, RED GARLAND, HANK JONES, EDDIE HARRIS, BILLY TAYLOR, J.R. MONTEROSE, JOHNNY GRIFFIN, JODIE CHRISTIAN, JOE DIORIO, BILLY HIGGINS, MONTY BUDWIG, EDDIE GOMEZ, GARRY DIAL, JAY ANDERSON, ROBERTO MAGRIS AND OTHERS.
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