Died On This Date (November 21, 2012) Austin Peralta / Jazz Piano Prodigy and Composer
themusicsover 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.
What You Should Own
Billy Scott was a popular R&B singer whose hits from the ’60s and ’70s struck a chord along the beach music scene of along the southeast coast of the United States. Beach music is a variant of R&B which is closely associated with shag dancing, popular in and around the North and South Carolina beach communities. Born in Huntington, West Virginia, Scott took an early shine to the rhythm and blues songs he heard on the radio. He honed his chops while performing in various groups while still in the Army, and after being honorably discharged in 1964, he changed his name professionally to Billy Scott and began performing with his wife as the Prophets. Over the course of his career, Scott had hits with “I Got The Fever” – a gold record, “Seaside Love,” and “California.” The Prophets (later known as the Georgia Prophets) went on to have numerous regional hits throughout the ’70s. Scott continued to perform in front of adoring crowds along the Beach Music circuit well into his 60s. Billy Scott was 70 when he died of liver and pancreatic cancer on November 17, 2012.
Bernard Lansky was a longtime Memphis clothing retailer who, along with his brother, Guy Lansky owned Lansky Brothers on Beale Street. Since the early ’50s, the Lansky brothers helped create a visual image for celebrities who appreciated their store’s simple yet classic suits. The long list of their musical clientele over the years included 
Martin Fay is best remembered as the founding fiddler for the Chieftains. Formed in 1962, the Cheiftains went on to become arguably the biggest Irish folk band in history. If nothing more, they helped popularize their native music the world over for the better part of 50 years. To date, the band has earned six Grammys and has been named “Ireland’s Musical Ambassadors.” Fay learned to play the violin as a child, and by his late teens, he was playing in the Abbey Theatre orchestra in Dublin. By the early ’60s, Fay was earning his living by playing music, and in 1963, he and the Chieftains released their self-titled debut on Claddagh Records. From then on, the band seemed to tour the world non-stop, even playing in front of over 1 million people during Pope John Paul II‘s visit to Dublin in 1979. In 2001, Fay retired from the road but continued to record and perform with the Chieftains, but only in Ireland. In all, he played on over 30 albums before retiring completely in 2002. Martin Fay was 76 when he passed away on November 14, 2012. Cause of death was not immediately released, although, he had reportedly been ill for quite some time prior.
John Napier was a founding member of influential ’90s industrial band, Ethyl Meatplow. Formed in the early ’90s, the band released their first and only album, Happy Days, Sweetheart, in 1993. Although critically acclaimed, the album didn’t fair as well with consumers. Ethyl Meatplow did, however, find a mostly receptive audience for their live shows which were known to be somewhat explicit and generally included nude dancers. Along the way, the band toured with such acts as Front 242 and Thrill Kill Kult. After the band broke up, Napier went on to play with E. Coli and Buccinator. He was also a touring member of Nitzer Ebb. In later years, Napier, who had a Master’s Degree in Social Work, worked with troubled children. On November 11, 2012, John Napier died of what was initially reported as uncertain causes.