Musician

Died On This Date (June 16, 2010) Bill Dixon / Jazz Trumpeter

Bill Dixon
October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010

Among other things, Bill Dixon was an experimental jazz trumpeter who was somewhat unique in that he often included delay and reverb in his playing.  Over the course of a career that spanned some 60 years, he formed the Jazz Composers Guild and collaborated with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp and Rob Mazurek.  Dixon was also an educator, teaching at Bennington College in Vermont for nearly 30 years and chairing its Black Music Division for nearly 20.  Bill Dixon was 84 when he passed away in his sleep on June 16, 2010.

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Vade Mecum Ii - Bill Dixon

 

Died On This Date (June 15, 1982) Art Pepper / Jazz Sax Great

Art Pepper
September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982

artpepperArt Pepper was one of West Coast Jazz’s great saxophone players of the ’40s and ’50s, sharing the stage with the likes of Benny Carter and Stan Kenton, and later, Buddy Rich.  Unfortunately, Pepper was addicted to heroin and served approximately twelve years spread over four separate terms throughout the late ’50s and early ’60s, even serving two in San Quentin.  No doubt due to these breaks in his career, he was never able to reach the heights he might have.  Art Pepper died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 56.

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Died On This Date (June 15, 1968) Wes Montgomery / Jazz Legend

John “Wes” Montgomery
March 6, 1925 – June 15, 1968

The brother of fellow jazz greats, Buddy Montgemery and Monk Montgomery, Wes Montgomery was an acclaimed jazz guitarist whose style of playing strongly influenced the likes of, not only jazz artists like Pat Metheny an George Benson, but also such rock greats as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and  Joe Satriani.  A relative late-comer to music, Montgomery taught himself to play the guitar at the age of nineteen, and although he could not read music, he had the uncanny ability to learn by ear.  Throughout his short career by jazz standards, Montgomery was known to astound the likes of John Coltrane (who asked him to join his band), and Cannonball Aderley (who helped him get his first record deal) with his supurb playing.   Wes Montgomery died of a heart attack at the young age of 45.

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Died On This Date (June 15, 2007) Richard Bell / Played With Janis Joplin & The Band

Richard Bell
March 5, 1946 – June 15, 2007

Richard Bell was a Canadian pianist and guitarist who played Janis Joplin’s Full Tilt Boogie Band in the late ’60s, and in the ’90s incarnation of the Band.  But more remarkably, Bell began playing the piano at the age of four.  As a session player, Bell has worked with such greats as Bob Dylan, Paul Butterfield, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Walsh, John Sebastian, and Bruce Cockburn.  Richard Bell died of a form of cancer at the age of 61.