The Final Chorus

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

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,