Dec 28, 2020
2020 was an especially cruel year for jazz musicians, and we lost so many talented masters this year that I don't think I have completely grasped the impact their passing will have. A few we lost to COVID-19, others simply to old age. Some of the eleven musicians I honor in Podcast 786 were friends, and others were true idols of mine. All will be terribly missed. Take some time to listen to "Noted in Passing 2020" featuring the music of:
Wallace Roney (pictured above)- "Children of the Light" from Jazz
Jimmy Health - "Fashion or Passion" from Love Letters
Lee Konitz - "317 East 32nd" from Costumes are Mandatory with Ethan Iverson, Larry Grenadier and Jorge Rossy.
Annie Ross - "Love for Sale" from Sings a Hatful of Songs
McCoy Tyner - "Blues on the Corner" from The Real McCoy
Tony Allen - "A Night in Tunisia" from A Tribute to Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
Freddy Cole - "Don't Change Your Mind About Me" from This is the Life
Jimmy Cobb - The Title Track from The Meeting
Gary Peacock - "In Walked Po'" from Just So Happens with Bill Frisell
Ellis Marsalis - "Lulu's Back in Town" from Loved Ones with Branford Marsalis
Jeff Clayton - "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" from The L.A. Treasures Project with the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra
Time prevents me from including the music of the late Diane Moser, Andy Gonzalez, Henry Grimes, Candido Camero, Stanley Cowell, Steve Grossman, Stanley Crouch, Helen Jones Woods, Eddie Gale, Vic Juris, Richie Cole, Jymie Merritt, Jack Sheldon, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ray Mantilla, Larry Willis, Manu Dibango, Richard Wyans and Ginger Baker.
I also lost my uncle Arthur Freed to COVID-19. He was one of the earliest influences on my musical taste, and in who's bedroom I first heard - and was appalled by - Bitches Brew. I will miss him very much.