Don Franz, tuba player and a founding member of the St. Louis Ragtimers, died August 28 in St. Louis. He was 92. A musician, engineer,
Tony Fisher, a British trumpeter whose career joined big-band jazz to decades of London studio work, died September 27. He was 90. Born in Manchester,
Gene Bertoncini, a jazz guitarist known for bringing the nylon-string acoustic guitar into swing, standards, and Brazilian music, died August 29 in Englewood, New Jersey.
Nina Michelle, a Canadian-raised jazz singer who became a familiar presence on the Munich music scene, died unexpectedly October 7. She was 58. Michelle’s early
Charles A. Sengstock Jr., a music historian who documented the largely overlooked history of Chicago’s white dance bands and theater orchestras, died July 16 in
Elliott “Stackman” Callier, a saxophonist who split his life between New Orleans and Portland and spent decades as one of the city’s most in-demand horn
Mitchell Player, a bassist and music entrepreneur who became a fixture of the New Orleans traditional jazz scene, died September 9 in New Orleans of
Gregor Benko, a self-taught collector-historian who spent six decades tracking down lost recordings of the great Romantic-era pianists, died August 12 in Syracuse, NY. He
Arranger Marion Evans died July 22, he was 100 years old. He lived two full careers in music separated by decades of near-total anonymity on
Banjoist Neil Unterseher, a mainstay of the New Orleans traditional jazz scene for over half a century, died June 20 at his home in Kiln,
Clarinetist and saxophonist John Defferary, a fixture of the British trad jazz revival for over six decades, died on July 10; he was 85. Born
Albert A. “Al” Vollmer, founder of the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band and a tireless advocate for classic jazz, died July 3, 2026, at 97.
Tim Coakley, a Capital Region jazz drummer, broadcaster, organizer, and longtime newspaper man, died in July 2026. He was 88. Born in Utica, New York,
Leo Rayhill, the longtime Syracuse jazz broadcaster whose Sounds of Jazz became a fixture of Central New York radio, died July 2, 2026, he was
Abdullah Ibrahim, known to an earlier generation as Dollar Brand, died on June 15, 2026, in Bavaria, Germany. He was 91. Born Adolph Johannes Brand
Joe Negri, a Pittsburgh jazz guitarist who spent a lifetime bringing the warmth of the swing tradition to concert stages, university classrooms, and children’s television,
The jazz recording community lost one of its most trusted ears on June 19, with the sudden and unexpected death of Michael Perez-Cisneros, a Grammy-winning
David Poe, known to fellow Las Vegas musicians as “Show Dog” and sometimes billing himself as David “Mojo” Poe, died on June 3, 2026, in
Ronell Johnson, the trombonist, sousaphonist, and vocalist who was a fixture with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for over two decades, died on June 14,
