Died On This Date (October 10, 2010) Marion Brown / Avant-Garde Jazz Saxophonist

Marion Brown
September 8, 1931 – October 10, 2010

Marion Brown was an influential saxophonist who was closely associated with the avant-garde jazz movement of the ’60s.   After settling in New York City during the early ’60s, Brown quickly began running in the same circles as Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, and John Coltrane.  He can be heard playing on the latter’s great 1966 album, Ascension.  During the ’70s, Brown transitioned to education, holding positions at such prestigious colleges as Amherst, Wesleyan and Bowdoin.  And during the ’80s, Brown became equally respected for his paintings and drawings.  In poor heath in recent years, Marion Brown passed away in a Florida nursing home on October 10, 2010.  He was 79.

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Three for Shepp - Marion Brown

Died On This Date (August 24, 2009) Joe Maneri / Jazz Saxophonist

Joe Maneri
February 9, 1927 – August 24, 2009

joe_maneriJoe Maneri was  jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who came to some prominence during the ’90s.  He specialized in taking traditional ethnic folk elements and embellishing them with his own avant garde free-form jazz.  He has been compared to Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra.  Thanks to composer John Zorn, a 1963 unreleased album found a home on his Avant Records in the late ’90s, exposing him to new fans than ever before.  Maneri went on to record several more albums throughout the late ’90s and 2000s.  Fan and comic writer, Harvey Pekar used Maneri’s music in his 2003 film, American Splendor.  Joe Maneri passed away at a Boston hospital due to complications from heart surgery.  He was 82.

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The Trio Concerts - Joe Maneri Trio

Died On This Date (May 30, 1993) Sun Ra / Acclaimed Jazz Innovator

Herman “Sun Ra” Blount
May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993

Jazz innovator Herman Blount (aka Sun Ra)was born either in Birmingham, Alabama or on another planet, as he would like us to believe. Wherever he came from, his influence on contemporary music is as big as the persona he created. Hard Bop, Swing, Poet, Avant Garde, Big Band Leader, Philosopher, Pianist, Composer, Organist, Cosmic, Educator, Student, American, Extraterrestrial…are all words that make up Sun Ra. Much of Blount’s life remained a mystery for decades. What is known is that he was a skilled pianist in his early teens, and by his mid teens he was performing semi professionally. At twenty, he joined a touring group that he eventually took over and renamed the Sonny Blount Orchestra. Two years later the band was dissolved when he accepted a scholarship to Alabama A&M. It is said that while in college, Blount experienced some sort of mind altering event that would start him on the journey that would lead him to eventually become Sun Ra. He and his “Arkestra” stayed extremely active into the early ’90s, only slowing down when Blount suffered a stroke in 1990. Within a couple of years Sun Ra was too ill to go on so he moved back to Birmingham where he passed away while suffering from a bout of pneumonia. He was 79 (maybe!).  Sun Ra been credited for being a direct influence on the likes of Sonic Youth, New York Dolls, George Clinton, King Crimson, Phish, Frank Zappa, and many many more.

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Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy & Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow - Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra

Died On This Date (April 13, 2010) Steve Reid / Notable Jazz Drummer

Steve Reid
January 29, 1944 – April 13, 2010

Steve Reid was an accomplished jazz drummer who, over the course of a long career played with the likes of Miles Davis, Sun Ra, James Brown, and Ornette Coleman.  He also served as a house drummer for Motown.  Reid was still a teenager when he started drumming, and by the time he went off to college, he had already worked in the house band at the Apollo Theater.  Reid released several albums under his own name including those he self-distributed on his own label.  During the 2000s, Reid performed with electronic wiz, Kieran Hebden, also known as Four Tet.  Steve Reid passed away on April 13, 2010 at the age of 66.

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