Joe Pass
January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994
Joe Pass was an exceptional jazz guitarist known for an improvisational style that would influence future generations of players. Pass began playing guitar on his 9th birthday and by the time he turned 14, he was gigging around town. But within a few years, he began to struggle with drug abuse and fell off the radar as a musician. After spending over two years in a drug rehab program, he resurfaced to reclaim his spot at the top of the jazz world. Throughout the ’60s, Pass recorded several albums for the Pacific Jazz label while lending his talents to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Mathis and Della Reese. The ’70s saw the release of Pass’ signature album, Virtuoso and the Grammy winning album, The Trio by Pass, Oscar Peterson, and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Pass died of cancer on May 23, 1994.
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