In the second month of our siege against an implacable and impersonal enemy, I am a bundle of conflicting and untidy emotions. It really is so much easier to stand aloof and not feel each successive gut-punch delivered with the day’s news. Sometimes the blow is unrelated to the main topic; the effect is cumulative nonetheless. And as a newsgatherer, I would be shirking my responsibility by taking a break from information.
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Wynton Marsalis leads the procession at the funeral of vibraphonist Lionel Hampton in 2002. Wynton's father Ellis Marsalis succumbed to Covid-19 in April.
This month is notable for the number of wonderful musicians and artists who have died of coronavirus infections and other causes since the beginning of April. Only a fraction of these are commemorated in our Final Chorus section; some created worthy work that is just outside the music we generally cover, others just missed being included as our paper brimmed full of editorial content. Each death was a grievous loss to us personally.
The first loss I must address is that of American balladeer John Prine, who died of COVID-19 complications on April 7th. Astute readers will have caught my reference to Prine on our front page. Anyone who has the internet within reach can search for “In Spite of Ourselves” and find his live performance of the song with Iris Dement. It may be the best so
