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Jazz and Blues Lounge

June 12th, 2008

Another One Down: R.I.P. Sean Costello

Sorry blues fans that I am a little late on this one. Another sad day and another sad report because another light has been snuffed out and snuffed out way too soon. A very popular and talented blues guitarist, out of Atlanta, named Sean Costello, was found dead on Tuesday.
Not much in the […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

June 5th, 2008

Some More Bo Diddley

Well, as you know, we lost one of the biggest names and influences on modern music this week. He is known as a bluesman, but he really influenced rock and roll right along with some of the earliest rock and roll musicians. I felt like I hadn’t really done the man justice with […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

June 2nd, 2008

Bo Diddley Has Died

Wow, this is one of those posts you know is coming, and yet when it happens, you really don’t want to make the announcement. One of the biggest influences on early Rock and Roll and the man who invented his own style of “beat,” Bo Diddley, has passed away at the age of 79. […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

April 23rd, 2008

In Memory of John Young

Another elderly member of the jazz world has shuffled off this mortal coil and this one had a definite local Chicago tie-in.  For a full detail, check out the “Post No Bills” blog by the Chicago Reader.  John Young was 86-years-old and he passed away last week.
According to Peter Margasak, who writes the “Post No […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

March 4th, 2008

In Memoriam: Jeff Healey

It is another sad and empty day in the world of blues and jazz music.  One of the most-talented guys around in both of those genres passed away over the weekend, Jeff Healey.  He had been battling a rare form of cancer his entire life and he finally succombed to it over the weekend.  He […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

February 7th, 2008

In Memory of Earl May

One of the key deaths in January of 2008 I seemed to have missed was the death of legendary jazz bassist, Earl May. He is a name that may not jump immediately to the minds of the casual jazz listener, but he is one of those guys every jazz musician wants. You know, every genre […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

January 2nd, 2008

Another Sad Announcement

The problem with the older blues musicians is the exact same problem we have with the older jazz musicians.  Namely, the problem is, they keep dying off.  Of course, sometimes they die off for reasons that seem rather stupid.  In this case, it wasn’t drug use, but it was smoking and the fire a cigarette […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

December 26th, 2007

In Memoriam - Oscar Peterson

The problem with being such a fan of classic jazz is that, for the most part, the musicians who played that great music are either dead or quite elderly and, therefore, likely to pass away.  I am sorry to report that another musician who was key to my early jazz days, especially during my time […]

By balaspa -- 2 comments

September 13th, 2007

R.I.P. Joe

I am going to confess that I was never a particular fan of the seminal jazz band Weather Report.  I mean, I was aware of them and I played their music during the days when I worked at the jazz radio station.  I didn’t dislike them or anything, but there is just such a diverse […]

By balaspa -- 0 comments

August 27th, 2007

R.I.P. - Max Roach

When you start to get involved in the jazz scene and you take the time to go back and study the earliest of the jazz albums, certain names begin to pop up again and again.  You can probably rattle them off yourself.  The other thing is that jazz fans tend to be the types who […]

By balaspa -- 1 comment