respect...
february 2010
johnny dankworth
b. John Phillip William Dankworth, 20th September 1927, Woodford, Essex, England.
d. 6th February 2010, King Edward VII hospital, London
U.K. Jazz musician, Sir Johnny Dankworth has died. He was 82.
Johnny Dankworth was born in Woodford, Essex in the U.K.
Johnny attended the Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow in his early days.
Although he was tutored with the violin and the piano, it was the clarinet which became his musical instrument of choice.
Influenced by Benny Goodman and (later) Charlie Parker, Johnny studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music.
In 1949 he attended the Paris Jazz Festival and played with Charlie Parker, an association which led to a tour of Sweden with the saxophonist Sidney Bechet.
Johnny was voted Musician of the Year the same year.
He formed the Dankworth Seven, a group which initially endured for three years, became disbanded, but was reformed on occasions during the following years.
In 1953 he formed the Johnny Dankworth Big Band, who performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, the Birdland jazz club in New York and shortly afterwards shared the stage with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
three early albums
Johnny had introduced a young vocalist to his ensemble, a songstress called Cleo Laine.
The couple were later to marry in 1958.
He then began adding further additions to his musical C.V., writing scores for various film and television shows.
Johnny penned the scores for The Avengers and Tomorrow's World, along with music for the films Modesty Blaise and Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment.
In 1961, he made the charts with 'African Waltz', a melody which remained in the charts for several months.
Johnny developed a musical association with the trumpeter Clark Terry, who featured on the album 'The Zodiac Variations'.
He continued his schedule of live recordings touring in Britain and Europe with Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and Gerry Mulligan, and performed at concerts and radio performances with Lionel Hampton and Ella Fitzgerald.
Johnny remained a good friend of Duke Ellington's, a relationship which continued until Duke's passing in 1974.
The Ellington family links continued, with Johnny performing with the Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Duke’s son, Mercer Ellington.
During his career, Johnny performed alongside George Shearing, Toots Thielemans, Benny Goodman, Herbie Hancock, Hank Jones, Tadd Dameron, Slam Stewart, Oscar Peterson amongst others.
From 1984 to 1986, he was a professor of music at Gresham College, London, and ran the Allmusic summer schools at The Stables in Wavendon, a theatre created by him and Cleo in their own back garden.
Johnny diverse performances included an appearance with the U.K. Soul singer Craig David on the Later with Jools Holland show on the BBC.
Sadly, Johnny was taken ill in late 2009.
He and Cleo cancelled a number of UK concert dates, however he did return to performing for one solo show at the London Jazz Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, London, in December 2009.
Johnny had to play his sax from a wheelchair, and sadly passed away on the 6th February 2010, at the King Edward VII hospital in London.
Cleo Laine announced his passing at a concert at The Stables theatre, in Buckinghamshire, that evening.
Johnny Dankworth was given a CBE in 1974 and was knighted in 2006 for his services to music.
Johnny and Cleo have two children. Alec Dankworth is a bassist who is also a member of his father's band, and Jacqui Dankworth who is a singer.
january 2010
robert 'squirrel' lester (the chi-lites)
b. Robert 'Squirrel' Lester, 16th August 1942, McComb, Mississippi, U.S.A.
d. 22nd January 2010, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Robert 'Squirrel' Lester, of the Soul vocal group, the Chi-Lites, has died. He was 67.
Robert was the second tenor in the Chicago based singing group. He passed away following a short illness.
He was born in McComb, Mississippi.
He was included in the recent Chi-Lites line-up, along with group leader Marshall Thompson, lead vocalist Frank Reed, and backing vocalist, Tara Thompson.
An inductee at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, Lester was 67 years old at the time of his death.
The Chi-Lites were inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 2000 and fellow founding member Eugene Record joined them on stage for the first time in 10 years.
ed thigpen
b. Edmund Leonard (Ed) Thigpen, 28th December 1930, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
d. 13th January 2010, Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ed Thigpen, drummer for Oscar Peterson between 1959 and 1965, has died. He was 79.
He also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ed Thigpen was raised in Los Angeles, California.
As a student, he attended Thomas Jefferson High School, whose other pupils included Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon and Chico Hamilton.
Ed's father was also a drummer.
Ben Thigpen had collaborated with Andy Kirk for several years during the 1930's and 40's.
Ed began his professional career in the Savoy Ballroom in New York City with the Cootie Williams orchestra, for a two year period, between 1951 to 1952.
He accompanied several Jazz artists including, Dinah Washington, Gil Melle, Oscar Pettiford, Eddie Vinson, Paul Quinichette, Ernie Wilkins, Charlie Rouse, Lennie Tristano, Jutta Hipp, Johnny Hodges, Dorothy Ashby, Bud Powell, and Billy Taylor.
Ed then replaced Herb Ellis in the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1959 whilst in Toronto, Canada.
In 1961 he recorded with the Teddy Edwards & Howard McGhee Quintet in Los Angeles with Phineas Newborn, Jr. and Ray Brown.
When he and Oscar went their seperate ways, Ed recorded for the Verve imprint.
'Out of the Storm' was released in 1966 for the label and featured Kenny Burrell, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter.
Ed later toured with Ella Fitzgerald between 1967 and 1972.
He relocated from the States to Copenhagen in recent years, working with the likes of Alice Babs, Kenny Drew, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, Ernie Wilkins, Svend Asmussen, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander and Thad Jones.
Ed was later inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.
Ed Thigpen passed away peacefully after a brief period in Hvidovre Hospital (Copenhagen, Denmark) on the 13th of January 2010.
b. Theodore DeReese 'Teddy' Pendergrass, JR.., 26th March 1950, Kingstree, South Carolina. U.S.A.
d. 13th January 2010, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Philadelphia International Soul singer, Teddy Pendergrass has died. He was 59.
In 2009, Teddy underwent colon cancer surgery and had difficulty recovering. The operation was related to complications from injuries resulting from an earlier 1982 car accident.
He died on the 13th of January 2010, while hospitalized at Bryn Mawr Hospital in suburban Philadelphia.
Teddy Pendergrass was born to Ida Geraldine Epps and the late Jesse Pendergrass.
He was a student at the old Thomas Edison High School for Boys in Philadelphia.
Teddy left school in the 11th grade to go into the music business.
When he was young, Teddy was ordained a minister and became a drummer to further his musical ambitions.
Teddy became the drummer for the group The Cadillacs, who later merged with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
He became the lead singer and the group signed with Gamble & Huff on the then CBS subsidiary Philadelphia International Records in 1972.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were hugely successful, scoring chart hits with songs such as 'I Miss You', 'Bad Luck', 'Wake Up Everybody' and the multi million seller 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'.
Teddy left the group in 1977, launching a solo career, resulting in the releases 'The More I Get the More I Want', 'Close the Door', 'I Don't Love You Anymore', 'Turn Off the Lights' and 'The Whole Town's Laughing At Me'.
His first PIR solo album was the self titled 'Teddy Pendergrass' (in 1977), which was followed by 'Life is a Song Worth Singing' (in 1978), 'Live Coast to Coast' and 'Teddy' (in 1979), 1980's 'TP' and the final Philadelphia International Records album 'It's Time for Love' (in 1981).
He also sang a duet with Whitney Houston on "Hold Me", from her self-titled debut album.
On 18th of March, 1982, in the Germantown section of Philadelphia on Lincoln Drive, Teddy was involved in an automobile accident when the brakes failed on his Rolls-Royce and he hit a tree.
Teddy and his passenger, Tenika Watson, were trapped in the wreckage for 45 minutes.
As a result of the accident, Teddy suffered a spinal cord injury leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
In August 1982, PIR also released 'This One's for You', while Teddy was recovering from the automobile accident.
In 1983, the album 'Heaven Only Knows' was released, containing his final pre-accident recordings.
In 1988, Teddy released the album 'Joy', which featured the popular songs 'Joy' and '2 a.m.'
He relocated to a new label in 1996 after a lengthy gap in his career, recording 'Believe In Love', which was considered as one of his finest recorded moments in recent years.
c.1984
b. Woodrow Cunningham, 8th July 1948, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
d. 9th January 2010, Bowie, Maryland, U.S.A.
Woody Cunningham has died. He was 61.
He passed away peacefully in his sleep at home in Bowie, Maryland, with his family.
Woody was the drummer, writer, vocalist and co-producer for the late Seventies and Eighties Soul group Kleeer.
He was co-producer of five of their seven albums, the last two were co-produced with Eumir Deodato.
Woody was born in Baltimore, Maryland where he attended Dunbar High, renowned for their championship basketball teams.
His first drum gig was backing up a local Baltimore singing group called The Tempros with lead singer Billy Griffin who took Smokey Robinson's place with The Miracles.
His next gig was with another local group known as The Young Vandals with Damon Harris who replaced Eddie Kendricks with The Temptations.
In 1971, Woody was the drummer with the vocal group the Choice Four.
In 1972 he reloacted to New York and formed the band Pipeline with bass player Norman Durham, keyboardist Richard Lee, and percussionist Paul Crutchfield, all who were later to form the spine of the group Kleeer.
Woody performed on sessions for Sylvester, Faith, Hope & Charity, Disco Tex & the Sexolettes, and Candido, for Salsoul Records.
At Salsoul he met Jocelyn Brown who heard his voice and persuaded him to record lead vocals on future recordings.
In 1976 Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael needed a group to tour under the name the Universal Robot Band.
kleeer (woody-centre right)
By 1978 Kleeer were formed, and subsequently the group signed to Atlantic Records where they recorded seven albums for the label between 1979 and 1986.
Woody also has the distinction of being the very first drummer for the late Luther Vandross.
Woody wrote, sang lead and was drummer for some of Kleeer's most memorable songs including 'Intimate Connection', 'Get Tough' and 'Open Your Mind'.
His solo material included 'Never Say Never' and 'Universal Love' (both on Expansion Records) and 'The Very Best of Kleeer' (on Rhino Records).
Woody is survived by his wife Vickie, his son Matthew (a drummer and musician who is in college) and five daughters - Kemberly, Monique, Natasha, Nyima and Cheryl. He also has five grandchildren.
b. 1st October 1948, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
d. 11th January 2010, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
Soul Songstress, Sandra Wright, died early Monday the 11th of January 2010. She was 61.
Sandra suffered a blood clot and died at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hamphire.
She had battled diabetes and in 2008 and had a double knee-replacement operation.
Sandra was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where she began singing at age 4 before training at Tennessee State University to be an opera singer.
Blues legend Memphis Slim was her cousin, and she won a talent contest at Tennessee State by singing rhythm and blues.
On leaving college, Sandra performed on tour with Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown and recorded a solo album for Stax/Truth Records, entitled, 'Wounded Woman' in 1974.
She sang regularly in Nashville, where she put together the Sandra Wright Band.
The band relocated in 1992 to Vermont to be closer to the band's production company.
Sandra sang with the Unknown Blues Band for a double bill with Kilimanjaro on New Year's Eve during the First Night Burlington 2010 celebration, and had been very recently performing at the local Flynn Center.
willie mitchell
b. Willie Lawrence Mitchell, 1st March 1928, Ashland, Mississippi, U.S.A.
d. 5th January 2010, Methodist University Hospital, Memphis Tennessee, U.S.A.
The legendary producer and musician, Willie Mitchell, has died. He was 81.
Willie had suffered a cardiac arrest on the 19th of December and died at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis at 7:25 a.m. on Tuesday the 5th of January.
Willie will, probably, be best remembered for his production work with the Soul singer Al Green.
A trumpeter (from the age of 8 years) and bandleader in his own right, Willie released a number of popular singles for Hi Records as an artist in the 1960s, which included 'Soul Serenade'.
Willie Mitchell owned the Royal Studio where the artists Buddy Guy, John Mayer and many others recorded.
During the 1970s, Willie also owned Hi Records, based in Memphis.
Willie was later presented with a Trustees Award from the Grammy Foundation in 2008.
Willie and his band also provided the music at several New Year's Eve parties for Elvis Presley at Presley's Graceland home.
He and Al Green revived their successful recording partnership in 2003 when Al recorded 'I Can't Stop', his first collaboration with Willie since 1985's 'He is the Light'.
This release was followed by the album 'Everything's OK'.
A Memphis boulevard was named in his honour in 2004.
or go to the 2008 respect page (and previous years) from here
