Loss of three greats in jazz world
While the coronavirus wreaks its havoc on the world, three greats of the Jazz world have been taken.
As scientists have informed, people with previous medical conditions as well as the elderly are more susceptible to getting the virus.
Trumpeter Wallace Roney passed away at the age of 59, on March 31, 2020, in St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey.
Roney was the only trumpet player to study personally with Miles Davis. He also built a career pursuing jazz for more than 40 years. Wallace recorded 22 albums on his own and more than 100 albums as a sideman. His last performance was on March 5, 2020, at Chicago’s Jazz Showcase.
If you would like to hear Roney play, here is a link to his song “Verses.”
Pianist and music professor Ellis Marsalis Jr. passed away at the age of 85, on April 1, 2020, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Marsalis was the head patriarch to a musical family, where he has 6 musically gifted sons.
He taught music at the Xavier University of New Orleans, the University of New Orleans and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. Marsalis continued performing around the world, as well as weekly performances at the Snug Harbor jazz club in New Orleans.
If you would like to hear some music performed by Marsalis, here is a link to an album called “Heart of Gold.”
Bucky Pizzarelli, an American jazz guitarist died at the age of 94 on April 1, 2020, in Saddle River, New Jersey.
Pizzarelli was a self-taught musician and mastered the seven-string guitar. Before and after his tour with Monroe's band, he served in World War II as an infantryman in the Army. During his time in the Army, he performed in an unauthorized dance band.
He used the stage name of “Johnny Buck” while performing with The Three Suns pop trio. Pizzarelli had the honor of performing at the White House in Washington, D.C for both former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
If you would like to listen to music performed by Pizzarelli, here is a link to listen to him perform “Sing Sing Sing.”
