Tag: Obituary

In Memory of Charlie Haden 1937-2014

Charlie Haden

There was never any doubt of Charlie Haden’s commitment to the bass and to jazz. From the iconoclastic Ornette Coleman Quartet in the late 50s to his Quartet West ensemble, Haden has remained a steadfast force in jazz, constantly changing, but always remaining true to himself and his art.  Charlie Haden died, on July 11,…

The Monkees’ Davy Jones Has Left the Set

DAVY JONES SINGS HIS LAST HEY HEY Davy Jones  (30 December 1945 – 29 February 2012)  passes at 66 from a reported heart attack. I dug Mickey Dolenz more and he definitely got the best songs, and I appreciated Michael Nesmith more later on, but in 1965,  when I was in 6th grade, I loved…

Those Who Left the Planet in 2009

I hadn’t thought of doing one of those retrospectives looking back at artists who left us in 2009.  There have been times in the past couple of years when I’ve felt the Echoes Blog was becoming the Death Blog.  But a list on Planet Origo got me to thinking that before 2009 is completely in…

Jazz In the Space Age: George Russell Leaves Orbit

Composer George Russell traveled the spaceways and now he’s on the last trip. You may not have known him, but if you listen to music in general, jazz in particular and maybe even Echoes, you heard his influence.  George Russell guided trumpeter Don Cherry, guitarist Terje Rypdal, saxophonist Jan Garbarek and many more into new…

Ali Akbar Khan Plucks His Last String

Echoes remembers Ali Akbar Khan (April 14,1922-June 19, 2009) Ali Akbar Khan is one of the only Indian musicians whose name is spoken in the same breathe as Ravi Shankar.  He plays the Indian stringed instrument called the sarod and since his American debut in 1955 playing duets with classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, he’s been…

Charlie Mariano-From Bop to Fusion to India to Gone

Saxophonist Charlie Mariano passed at  86 on June 16, 2009 Charlie Mariano was a second tier bop saxophonist with a biting, post-Charlie Parker sound who later showed the influence of John Coltrane and became enthralled with eastern music.   In addition to his saxophones, he started  playing an obscure, oboe-like instrument from India called the nagaswarum. …