For remembrances grouped by month as they ran in the print edition, including all entries prior to April 2018, look in the Final Chorus Archive, individual past issues, or use the search feature.
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
Larry Linkin, who had a colorful career as a featured entertainer and the highly-successful head of the largest trade association in the music industry promoting
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
Musical theater historian Robert Kimball died on July 2 at the age of 86. Born in New York City in 1939, Robert Kimball graduated from
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,
Henry Blackburn was one of the most consequential behind-the-scenes figures in the traditional jazz revival, a gifted clarinetist and soprano saxophonist who, as a young
Sonny Rollins, the tenor saxophonist universally known as the “Saxophone Colossus,” died on May 25, 2026, at his home in Woodstock, New York. He was
French reed player Daniel Huck, a joyful presence in European hot jazz, died April 25, 2026, in Saint-Christol-lez-Alès, France. He was 78. Born in Paris
Jo Ann Castle, the pianist and accordionist known to millions of television viewers as the “Queen of the Honky-Tonk Piano,” died May 8, 2026. She
Mike Schwimmer, a performer, broadcaster, collector, presenter, and historian whose work reached across the traditional jazz and ragtime community for more than half a century,
Kerry Price, longtime resident of Royal Oak, MI, age 86, passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on March 2, 2026. Born on March
Floye “Flo” Dreyer, a trumpeter whose career stretched from the all-female swing bands of the 1940s to community ensembles in South Florida late in life,
