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.
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,
Bill Sinclair, longtime pianist with Connecticut’s Galvanized Jazz Band and a devoted interpreter of New Orleans-style jazz, died February 21. Sinclair spent decades performing traditional
Fred Vigorito, cornetist and leader of Connecticut’s Galvanized Jazz Band, died March 10th. Over a professional career that spanned sixty years, he became one of
Floyd Vivino, known professionally as “Uncle Floyd,” died on January 22, 2026; he was 74. A pianist, television host, and entertainer, he became a regional
Drummer Ernie Hackett, son of cornetist Bobby Hackett, died December 23, 2025. He was a New York based musician and an important chronicler of his
Australian jazz trombonist, vocalist, and bandleader Paul Ingle died on January 12th, he was 75. Ingle was a mainstay of the Australian traditional jazz scene,
Singer and rhythm guitarist Rebecca Kilgore died on January 7th. She was a widely admired figure in mainstream and swing-oriented jazz, particularly within the West
Clarinetist and bandleader Stan Rubin died December 28, 2025, at age 92. He was a central figure in the 1950s college Dixieland boom, emerging from
British clarinetist Brian Carrick died on December 31, 2025, at approximately 82. Born in 1943 in South Shields, England, was a devoted exponent of New
