Died On This Date (May 23, 1994) Joe Pass / Jazz Guitar Virtuoso
themusicsover 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.
What You Should Own
Sidney Bechet was one of jazz’s greatest soloists. He began playing as a young teen in New Orleans, and by the time he was 20, he was traveling the world and making his mark on both the saxophone and clarinet. He was a prolific composer as well. Bechet’s life was not without controversy as evident by the pistol duel he once instigated in Paris. Bechet evidently had a notoriously bad temper. He was jailed and later deported. Bechet died on his 62nd birthday, May 14, 1959.
As a respected Jamaican trombonist, Don Drummond was one of the original foundations on which ska was built. Drummond started his career in the mid ’50s with Eric Dean’s All Stars, and in 1964, he helped form the legendary Skatalites. Besides being one of the world’s best trombone players, Drummond was an extremely prolific songwriter, penning over 300 songs over his very short career. On January 1, 1965, Drummond was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, exotic dancer Anita “Margarita” Mahfood, who he stabbed to death in his apartment. At his trial, he was found to be legally insane and was committed to Bellevue Hospital where he died of an apparent suicide on May 6, 1969. Family and friends however, insist Drummond died at the hands of either a Jamaican government targeting the Kingston music scene, or the mob as revenge for the death of Mahfood.