Died On This Date (November 21, 2012) Austin Peralta / Jazz Piano Prodigy and Composer

Austin Peralta
October 25, 1990 –  November 21, 2012

Austin Peralta was a respected young jazz pianist and composer.  Just six when he began taking piano lessons, Peralta was quickly realized to have a gift most musicians his age don’t have.   He went on to study with the likes of Alan Pasqua and Buddy Collette.  At 15, Peralta performed at the renowned Tokyo Jazz Festival.  Besides performing with his own trio at the festival, he played alongside the likes of Sadao Watanabe and Chick Corea. By age 16, Peralta had already released two albums, Maiden Voyage and Mantra, for Sony in Japan – both in 2006.  He followed that in 2011 with Endless Planets.   In 2004, Peralta contributed music to the soundtrack of Riding Giants, a surfing documentary directed by his father, Stacy Peralta, of Dogtown and Z-Boys fame.  During the year leading up to his passing, Peralta performed regularly with Allan Holdsworth and appeared on Flying Lotus’ Until The Quiet Comes.  Austin Peralta was 22 when he died on November 21, 2012.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

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Endless Planets - Austin Peralta



Died On This Date (June 23, 2008) Dave Carpenter / Jazz Bass Journeyman

Dave Carpenter
November 4, 1959 – June 23, 2008

Dave Carpenter was a much respected jazz bassist who,  most recently was playing in a trio alongside Peter Erskine and Alan Pasqua.  Born in Dayton, Ohio, Carpenter first took up the trumpet but switched to bass by his early teens.  After graduating from college, he played with three of jazz’s then living greatest talents, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman.  By the late ’80s, Carpenter was living in Los Angeles working in the studio with the likes of Ringo Starr, Celine Dion, Herbie Hancock and Barry Manilow.  Dave Carpenter suffered a fatal heart attack in his home on June 21, 2008.  He was 48.