Category Archives: 2020

Lee Konitz

Lee Konitz was cool before cool was a concept. Chicago born in 1927, he was twenty when he broke into Stan Kenton’s band. He made his name in the forties and fifties, helping to pioneer the cool jazz school of bebop along with the likes of Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan. Known as a sax player’s sax player, he was as acclaimed by his peers for the notes he didn’t play as for the ones he did. When he passed at age 92, the song for which he might be best remembered is prophetically titled, “There Will Never Be Another You.”

Tony Rice

It’s not surprising to hear that a Los Angeles teenager in the 1960s would pick up a guitar. But where other kids were drawn to surf rock, Tony Rice had bluegrass in his veins. At 19, he moved east to join J. D. Crowe in a band that would push the boundaries of the genre, guided by Rice’s sure-handed acoustic fretwork and clear baritone. Rice would go on to partner with mandolin genius David Grisman on some of the most influential bluegrass records of our time. In later years, he collaborated with the likes of Ricky Skaggs, Bela Fleck and Emmy Lou Harris. Tony Rice. He saw it as his calling to keep a tradition alive. But in his hands, it was always new.

John Prine

John Prine was an iconic American country folk singer-songwriter who continues to influence musicians all over the world. So much has been made of his legend. Boyhood summers in Paradise – Kentucky, that is. A route as a postman in Chicago and a stint in the military. All that informed the clear-eyed vision and heartbreaking comedy he brought to songwriting, but it still doesn’t begin to explain the gentle genius of John Prine. As a writer, his material often had elements of protest and social commentary. He once described the place he hoped to occupy as somewhere between Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, and it’s enough to say he stands shoulder to shoulder with both in the pantheon of American song. He was active as a composer, recording artist and live performer from the early 1970s until his death in April 2020.

Leslie West

If there’s a Temple of Hard Rock, Leslie West’s name is etched in stone with letters shaped by lightning. Known for his blazing licks and signature thundering tone, West came to light along with the legendary Felix Pappalardi in the groundbreaking metal trio known as Mountain. Best known for the blues stomp “Mississippi Queen,” Mountain set West on a course to collaborate with such rock gods as Jack Bruce, Al Kooper and Deep Purple’s organ master Ian Gillian. Leslie West left us on December 23, 2020. But his reverb will echo for eternity.

Hal Ketchum

He was a heartthrob who supported himself as a carpenter before he recorded his first country album at age 35. He honed his craft in the company of alt-country legends Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett and Townes Van Zandt before going onto mainstream Nashville success in the ‘90s, penning hits for others and then conquering the country charts under his own name. After a stint in rehab, Hal was diagnosed with a spinal disorder and paralyzed, teaching himself to play again. Though he never recaptured the spotlight, his death at just 69 from Alzheimer’s Disease was mourned by millions. Hal Ketchum – he gave us Small Time Saturday Night, but he will always be larger than life.

Johnny Mandel

As a songwriter, Johnny Mandel is best known for the haunting love song, “The Shadow Of Your Smile.” As a composer, his movie and TV themes, including the Theme From M*A*S*H* are imprinted in the soundtracks of our lives. And as a player, he enriched performances and recordings by everyone from Count Basie to Sinatra, Streisand and Quincy Jones. Johnny Mandel—a mortal man, an immortal musician—left us in June 2020.

Steve Grossman

It was the jazz equivalent of a movie star getting discovered in a coffee shop when 19-year-old Steve Grossman caught the ear of Miles Davis at the Village Vanguard in 1969. Then a sophomore at Juilliard, Grossman was recruited to replace Wayne Shorter on tenor sax in Davis’s influential fusion band of the ‘70s. From there he became the leading light of a generation of sax players, making landmark records before relocating to Italy and becoming a legend in Europe and Latin America. His return to the States was quietly cut short by a cardiac event in August of 2020. Steve Grossman. His death at age 69 was untimely, but his life force is timeless.

Elijah “Eli” Harris

In most every major city, you can find musicians just about everywhere you look…some in clubs, restaurants, theaters, schools, music stores…and others, simply “busking” on the streets – performing just for tips from appreciative passersby. In Syracuse, New York, Elijah “Eli” Harris, Jr. was a busker for many, many years. He was a fixture in the community. Everybody knew and loved him. Music was his life. Sadly, Eli’s music career ended suddenly, when he tragically died in April 2020.

Jimmy Heath

At five foot three inches, Jimmy Heath was a towering figure in 20th century jazz. Nicknamed “Little Bird” for his early alto sax sound that owed a debt to Charlie Parker, he would go on to play tenor on more than a hundred landmark records. As a bandleader, he recruited a young John Coltrane. As a sideman and songwriter, he worked with Art Pepper, Gil Evans, Chet Baker and Miles Davis – leaving behind such timeless songs as “Body and Soul” and “Gingerbread Boy.” Jimmy Heath was small in stature, but he cast a long shadow when he left us in January 2020.

Hilliard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson

“Sweet Pea” Atkinson was a passionate – yet highly underrated – soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the lead singer for the band “Was (Not Was)”…a band that stirred strains of jazz, country, metal, funk and disco into a stew all its own. They had a run of hits in the 1980s, including this one, a dance club staple…”Walk The Dinosaur.” Sweet Pea once walked with dinosaurs. Now he walks with angels.