NYS Music 2023

Category: Obituaries

  • James Casey, Saxophonist for Trey Anastasio Band, Dead at 40 from Colon Cancer

    With profound sadness, we report that James Casey, who played saxophone in Trey Anastasio Band, Lettuce and Billy and the Kids, has lost his two-year battle with colon cancer. The news was shared on James’ social media on Monday morning, August 28.

    A statement from James’ family shared on social media and GoFundMe reads:

    It is with profound grief and a broken heart that we confirm the passing of James Casey. He died peacefully in the early morning of August 28, 2023, surrounded by his wife and family.

    James persevered through his colon cancer battle for two years, and it was the honor of his career to release solo music and perform during that time. James brought joy to everyone around him and his legacy will live on, both through his music and the advocacy work that’s become so integral to him.

    It was so important to James to help others avoid his fate – to learn the importance of early colon cancer screenings, know your family history, and be an advocate for your own health. When detected early, colon cancer is almost always curable. He shared his diagnosis publicly and illuminated his ongoing battle to raise awareness and help others.

    James was a remarkable human being, beloved for his wit, humility, kindness and generosity. He will be dearly missed.

    James Casey was born in Washington, D.C., raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and emerged from a musical family with an insatiable passion for the arts. He enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and later relocated to New York City, where he quickly established his presence in the music scene, joining fellow Berklee alumni in Soulive, and Lettuce and later, Trey Anastasio Band, all as saxophonist. Across North America and stages around the world, Casey was a sought-after musician whose talent knew no bounds.

    Among the artists James performed or collaborated with include The Roots, Phish, Meghan Trainor, Anderson .Paak, The Jonas Brothers, Maceo Parker, Carly Rae Jepsen, J.Cole, Leslie Odom Jr., Dave Matthews Band, Sabrina Claudio, Chaka Khan, Wu-Tang, John Legend, Roy Hargrove, Soulive, Lettuce, Shawn Mendes, 5th Harmony, and many more.

    james casey colon cancer

    James also appeared on albums for artists including Brooke Parrott (Another City), J. Cole (2014 Forest Hills Drive), Jesse McCartney (In Technicolor), Chromeo (White Women), Talib Kweli (P.O.C LIVE!), Brady Watt (Good Medicine), Phish (Big Boat), Michael Kiwanuka (Kiwanuka, Final Days), among many others.

    Bandleader Trey Anastasio said on social media:

    I’m heartbroken about the loss of our friend and bandmate James. My heart is with James’ mother and father, his beautiful wife Ayla, and with the rest of his amazing family.

    James was a magnificent soul. His spirit and personality glowed. His playing was elegant, stormy, soulful and lyrical. He was a powerful and melodic improviser, and spot on when reading intricate charts. His tone was full and warm, his singing voice was beautiful. I loved harmonizing with James. His smile filled the room.

    I’ll never forget the feeling of jousting with James on baritone sax and guitar. We would make eye contact and just go for it, diving into waves of sound together. Dark, scary, blues-filled jams. He was a force of nature. It felt like being in a tiny boat together in a huge storm in the middle of the ocean.

    It’s impossible to describe the deep connection that James, Natalie, and Jen had as a horn section in TAB. It was a magical, once in a lifetime section. Deep bonds of musicianship and friendship.

    James’s connection with Ayla was indescribable. She poured her complete soul into caring for James throughout every second of his battle with cancer. James talked about how much it meant to him. All of James’ friends and family will be forever grateful to Ayla. All of us in the band loved seeing the two of them together. You could feel the deep love they had for each other. My heart is with Ayla today. We love you Ayla.

    We all especially loved the nights on tour when James’ incredible family would come to shows. I loved seeing them laughing together in catering, or at soundcheck. James was a kind, loving, talented, and caring person, and a beautiful friend. His family completed that picture. James will be missed by all of us who loved him.
    James, you live in our hearts forever

    Trey Anastasio

    James was also known to perform with Phil Lesh and Friends, as well as Billy & The Kids, the latter of which was a quarantine connection in Hawai’i, with a detailed first-hand account from Benjy Eisen showcasing his innate ability to connect with musicians of any ilk. Said Eisen, “He showed up to rehearsal at a remote little jungle shack in Kauai and before he officially met everyone, he just started playing. Improvising. And he was instantly a full-time Kid.”

    Relix notes that it was when Casey crossed paths with Trey Anastasio Band trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick during the 2012 Bowlive run at Brooklyn Bowl, leading to Anastasio recognizing his immense talent, inviting him to join Trey Anastasio Band, forming an iconic horn section of Casey, Hartswick and trombonist Natalie Cressman.

    TAB horns james casey
    TAB horns – photo by Filip Zalewski

    Two years ago, James announced he had been diagnosed with colon cancer, one that disproportionately affects African-American men and women. James continued to perform when he could in between treatments, releasing a Christmas album, A Little Something for Everyone. The first solo work from Casey, the album was created in partnership with the Nancy Langhorne Foundation, with proceeds benefitting the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and Eastern Virginia Medical School’s HOPES Clinic, providing free colon cancer screenings for the uninsured.

    Casey began sharing tracks from his still unreleased solo EP, The Kaua’i Project, and released an inspiring short film, Music as Medicine: a James Casey Story, both earlier this year. The film advocates for early colon cancer screening–particularly within the Black community–by utilizing Casey’s music to raise awareness about the disease.

    James waged a battle against cancer with humility and grace, fighting valiantly until the end. James made it a point to use his platform and voice as a way to advocate for early colon cancer screenings, taking his battle public and advocating for the lives of others. His absence from the New York City music scene and the stages he would have played upon, will not be forgotten.

    Donations made be made in James’ memory through his GoFundMe campaign.

  • New York Musical Icon Tony Bennett Dead at 96

    New York’s own Tony Bennett, one of the most awarded singers of his generation, has passed away at age 96. His death marks the end of a recent battle with Alzheimer’s Disease and a life filled with chart-topping hits and almost every musical accolade possible, including 20 Grammys, a Lifetime Achievement Award and two Primetime Emmys. His signature jazzy singing style and notable duets with contemporary superstars allowed Bennett to forge a career that lasted nearly 70 years in total.

    (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

    Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born in Long Island City in Queens on August 3, 1926, the son of Italian immigrants. He and his older siblings grew up in poverty in New York, in the face of The Great Depression. Although his father passed away when Tony was only 10 years old, he helped him develop a love for arts and music like Al Jolson and Louis Armstrong. With the help of an uncle who worked in vaudeville. Tony Bennett was already performing live at 13 years old, singing at various Italian restaurants in Queens. He attended New York’s School of Industrial Art but dropped out at age 16 to help support his family. He never gave up on his dream of being a singer though, continuing to amass gigs as a singing waiter at restaurants as well as a a successful run at a Paramus, NJ night club.

    In 1944, Bennett was drafted into the US Army during the latter stages of World War II and even spent time on the front lines at one point in Germany. Upon discharge, he studied at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill. Here, he was taught the bel canto singing discipline which would allow to sing him for as long as he did. It was at this time that he also first started to develop his atypical approach of imitating, as he sang, the style and phrasing of other musicians.

    Pearl Bailey gave Tony his big break in 1949, asking him to open for her at a show in Greenwich Village. This led to a deal with Columbia Records where Bennett’s career first started out as a commercial pop singer. His first big hit was “Because Of You,” a ballad with a lush Percy Faith-led Orchestra. It reached #1 on the charts in 1951 and stayed there for ten weeks.

    Bennett continued to score more number ones in the early part of the 50s with songs like his rendition of “Blue Velvet” and “Rags To Riches.” He even had a short-lived television variety show in 1956, The Tony Bennett Show, which served as a replacement to The Perry Como Show. As the age of rock and roll ushered in, Bennett adapted accordingly with more jazz-oriented long form recordings like Cloud 7 and the critically acclaimed The Beat Of My Heart which featured icons like Art Blakey and Candido Camero. He even became the first male pop vocalist to sing with the Count Basie Orchestra.

    Bennett was also a notable advocate for civil rights. He participated at the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches and performed at a rally the night before Martin Luther King’s “How Long, Not Long” speech. His career and popularity took a noticeable dip in the ’60s and ’70s where he tried, unsuccessfully, to record contemporary rock songs. He bounced around between different labels and even started his own record company called Improv which was out of business by 1977.

    After a near fatal overdose and an ongoing battle with the IRS, Bennett hired his son as manager in an effort to turn his career around. He was able to get his expenses under control, moved him back to New York, and began booking him in colleges and small theaters to distance him from a “Vegas” image. By 1986, Tony Bennett was re-signed to Columbia Records, this time with creative control, and released his first album to reach the charts since 1972, The Art Of Excellence.

    He continued to stay relevant throughout the ’80s and ’90s thanks to the guidance of his new management which regularly booked him on TV shows like Letterman and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. In 1993, Bennett played a string of benefit concerts organized by alternative radio stations around the country, introducing a whole new generation to composers like Cole Porter and Gershwin. He even made an appearance at the MTV Movie Video Awards alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers, cementing the gap between his and the current generation. His 1994 appearance on MTV’s influential Unplugged is heralded as one of the better episodes and may have marked the peak of Bennett’s popularity.

    Bennett continued to tour extensively throughout the 90s, including a memorable appearance at Glastonbury in 1998, with his financial worries long a thing of the past. He was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997. Tony Bennett is also a member of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

    The latter part of his career may have produced one of his more successful recordings of all time in Duets: An American Classic, which was released in 2006 as part of a celebration of Bennett’s 80th birthday, receiving two Grammy awards and resulting in a slew of corresponding concerts and TV specials. A sequel, Duets II, was released five years later featuring collaborations with artists like Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson and Lady Gaga. His recording of “Body and Soul” for the album with Amy Winehouse is reportedly the last one she made before her death.

    In 2021, Tony Bennett announced his retirement from concerts and released his final album Love For Sale, another collaboration with Lady Gaga. With this, he broke the record for longest span of top-10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart for any living artist. He also broke the Guiness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material, at the age of 95 years and 60 days. Fittingly, his last live performances were also with Lady Gaga in 2021 that was later aired as a television special. Bennett is survived by by his wife, Susan Benedetto; his two sons, Danny and Dae Bennett; his daughters, Joanna Bennett and Antonia Bennett; and nine grandchildren.

  • In Memoriam: Buffalo Jazz Vocalist Mary McMahon

    The jazz scene in Western New York lost a legend last month, with the passing of vocalist Mary McMahon. A staple of the jazz community in Buffalo, her family’s music background, her years as an educator and her presence are eulogized here by JazzBuffalo Executive Director Tony Zambito, who shares the following tribute to McMahon.

    When the endearing and lovely jazz vocalist Mary McMahon became part of a performance, you can always count on lots of smiles, pleasantries, joy, a gathering of friends and family, and her warm encouragement to bandmates. These characteristics are what always accompanied her exceptional talent and qualities as one of the finest jazz vocalists in the Buffalo region. Mary succumbed on March 30th of this year to the battle of facing cancer at the age of seventy-four.

    Mary McMahon, August 30, 1948 – March 30, 2023

    Mary’s effervescent smile became a staple for the community. Especially during the seven consecutive years of JazzMondays on the Tappo Rooftop Patio that featured My Cousin Toné. Where Mary took the microphone in her hands as the jazz vocalist for the jazz ensemble. We simply do not have enough fingers on our hands to count the many occasions of joy and outstanding performances by Mary in the seven-year run.

    Mary McMahon was part of My Cousin Toné for nearly a dozen years. Serving as a platform for her return to performing after a hiatus of teaching and raising a family. In addition, Mary performed in special projects with several of the region’s most notable jazz musicians such as Dave Schiavone, Tim Clarke, Rick Strauss, Bobby Jones, Wayne Moose, Bud Fadale, Abdul-Rahman Qadir, Stu Weissman, and John Hasselback, Sr.

    Mary McMahon came from a robust musical family. Her mother was a classical pianist and organist. Her father sang for musical theaters in Michigan, and one brother played the jazz organ. At one point, all members of her family were playing at various clubs in Buffalo. One of Mary’s favorite things to do was to reminisce about these times in conversation with others.

    mary mcmahon

    After earning degrees in Music and Elementary Education, and before teaching in Buffalo for 25 years as well as raising a family, Mary played in a Top 40s group with jazz pianist Tom Paladino and jazz guitarist Ralph Fava. She then joined jazz pianist legend Bobby Jones for a long engagement with his group, Things To Come. Several can attest to the many times someone might evoke the “remember when” phrase about Mary’s time as a young woman singing in these groups.

    After Mary retired from teaching, she began singing classic jazz standards with the jazz ensemble group My Cousin Tone’, which became her most prominent presence in the last dozen years. Mary’s love for the jazz standards was deeply passionate. She poured her heart into rehearsing and making songs by the likes of Cole Porter and Gershwin uniquely her own with warm tones and captivating storytelling. She was well known by audiences for at first mentioning the song, the composer, the year, and any little story she may have gathered about the jazz standard she was about to sing.

    In addition to singing with My Cousin Toné, Mary performed special themed shows. Such as appearing at MusicalFare Theatre for a show devoted to the Great American Songbook and Quiet Nights – The Music of Jobim. In addition, The Mary McMahon Project performed at Pausa Art House, the Hotel Henry, and the Northwest Jazz Festival in Lewiston, NY. Mary performed at the jazz festival in Lewiston, NY with My Cousin Toné, including a memorable performance by her on the Main Stage.

    In the early days of the newly launched JazzBuffalo Poll, Mary was a favorite to the emerging jazz audiences beginning to support jazz anew. Winning in 2014 as the favorite in the nascent JazzBuffalo Readers and Fan Poll for Female Vocalist of the Year. At the same, giving of her time generously to help mentor the up-and-coming young vocalists during that time and in the past few years. She was especially fond of mentioning the band named, My Cousin Toné, and how the band earned similar recognition in the JazzBuffalo Poll for Favorite Large Jazz Ensemble of the Year.

    To Mary’s bandmates in My Cousin Toné, which include previous and current members Jim Matteliano, Bill Basil, Bill Savino, Pete Dauphin, Andy Peruzzini, Dalton Sharpe, Tony Zambito, Karen Russo, Tim Martin, and Tom Marinaro, her loss will be profoundly felt. Especially, when the music and the joy on the Tappo Rooftop Patio return once again.

    Mary’s loving presence, we are assured, will be felt by bandmates and audiences alike.

    Mary was the cherished companion for 10 years to Paul Guglielmo; adored mother of Kevin D. McMahon and Katie (Mitch) Grennell; beloved grandmother of Molly, Clara, and Rosalie McMahon, and Charlotte and Jacob Grennell; loving sister of Thomas (Natalie) and the late Skip (late Kathy) Beiring. A constant ray of light and love, Mary leaves behind a tremendous and diverse community of family and friends.

    In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary’s memory to two causes that were near and dear to her heart: The Special Olympics of New York and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at DenglerRobertsPernaKenmore.com.

    Originally published by JazzBuffalo.

  • De La Soul is From the Soul: Remembering Trugoy

    When TMZ first reported on February 12 that De La Soul’s Dave “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur had passed away, there was an outpouring of respect and support throughout social media. And for good reason, the 54-year-old Long Island native was not only one of hip hop’s most innovative rhymers, he had the catalogue and accolades to back it up. However, Plug 2’s value to the hip hop community isn’t based on his achievements on a commercial scale. For many, De La Soul represents the happiest times of their formative years, the boom era where hip hop wasn’t this high-functioning corporate machine, but when the art was still based around thoughts, feelings and the power to dare to be different, the organic way.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Hailing from the same Long Island outskirts that produced the likes of Chuck D, Rakim and Biz Markie, De La Soul’s contributions to hip hop and the black experience overall was one of normalcy. In an ever-changing rap landscape that had adopted an in-your-face brashness amid Public Enemy, NWA and Rakim’s rise, De La Soul served as the buoyant middle ground between the brazen and squeaky clean rappers of the day. While the group’s success is the product of four like minded creative vanguards (Posdnous, Trugoy, Maseo and Prince Paul) there’s no doubting that Trugoy embodied their very essence. Even as their music matured in between 3 Feet High and Rising and Stakes is High, Dave’s laidback effervescence remained a constant.

    https://youtu.be/tD_crXNhzKs

    Trugoy and De La Soul’s Impact

    In an era where black extremism seemed to be the new norm in hip hop, De La Soul brought a fresh point-of-view to life as a black young adult. With their quirky melodies, lighthearted approach, and genre-bending use of samples and rapping styles, the Amityville Memorial High products helped bring the other black experience to prominence. The one where you had fun, nobody got hurt, police was not involved and everything was okay. As a result, their music offered an alternative to contemporaries as their experiences as suburban black youth afforded them a broadened, colorblind view to artistry.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Consequently, their idiosyncratic point of view saddled them with a “hippie” gimmick from their record label. After all, black plight had long been one of America’s main soundtracks. For their part, De La Soul refused to portray themselves as victims to anything but wacky outfits. With their D.A.I.S.Y. (Da Inner Sound Ya’ll) mantra, De La Soul epitomizes hip hop’s ethos of “keeping it real.” Along with other members of the Natives Tongues, De LA Soul brought about a musical and social balance to the hip hop landscape. However, they remained true to themselves, refusing to be boxed into the alternative hip hop mold that was building around them.

    De La Soul is Dead was a backlash of feeling that way about the industry. About how our art was being compromised. I think people’s point of view of what we were trying to do — it seemed as if they were pointing their hands at us like, these guys are basically here to represent something that we believe that they are, and they’re going to act the way we think they’re supposed to. It was like, no, that’s not who we are. It’s not what we’re doing, and it’s not what we feel. You feel emotional when things happen inside, and we just gotta let it out through music.

    -Trugoy the Dove in an interview with Kickstarter Magazine

    At the heart of it all was Dave, whose creatively juxtaposing role as Trugoy resonated with many around the world, with De La Soul serving as an inspiration and pushing the budding careers of several acts, including Yasiin Bey and Common. With iconic group’s back catalogue set to hit streaming services on March 3, we can be assured that De La Soul will never be dead.

  • Burt Bacharach, Famed Pop Composer, Dies at 94

    Burt Bacharach, one of the most accomplished pop composers of the 20th century, having created 52 top 40 hits, passed away at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 94.

    Burt Bacharach
    Burt Bacharach, photo courtesy of CNN.

    Burt Bacharach was a Grammy, Oscar, and Tony-winning composer who grew up in Queens‘ Kew Gardens neighborhood and graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1946. In his early years, he showed a keen interest in jazz and often used his fake ID to get into 52nd Street nightclubs where he would see bebop musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie, whose styles influenced his songwriting.

    He was a major figure in 20th-century pop music, but also scored major hits in a variety of genres like Top 40, country, rhythm and blues, and even film scores, writing the theme song for the movie Arthur and “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Later in his career, he even appeared as himself in all three Austin Powers movies.

    History was made in 1957 when Bacharach and lyricist Hal David met at the Brill Building in New York City. The pair wrote dozens of popular songs, folding everything from pop to jazz to Brazilian grooves and rock, writing in non-standard time signatures; instead of the typical 4/4, they often bounded in 5/4 or 7/8. Dionne Warwick popularized many of these songs, with her recordings selling over 12 million copies, and 38 singles making the charts. Among the hits were “Walk On By,” “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”

    Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick
    Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick in 1971. Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns/Getty Images.

    Over his career, he also wrote other massive hits including “That’s What Friends Are For,” the charity collaboration between Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder in 1986, raising millions for AIDs research. He wrote the Shirelles’ “Baby It’s You,” and Tom Jones’ “What’s New Pussycat?” Perry Como’s “Magic Moments,” the Patti Labelle-Michael McDonald duet “On My Own,” and the Grammy award-winning Elvis Costello record Painted from Memory. Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Frank Sinatra were among the countless artists who covered his songs, and more recently White Stripes, Twista, and Ashanti.

    Later in his career, in 2012, he was presented the Gershwin Prize by Barack Obama, performed at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival in the UK, played with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra in March 2016, and other high-profile performances. His final released composition was a joint 2020 EP with songwriter and performer Daniel Tashian, Blue Umbrella, which earned them a Grammy nomination for the best traditional pop vocal album.

    Bacharach had high-profile marriages to actress Angie Dickinson and later to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, with whom he wrote “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).” He was married to his first wife, Paula Stewart, from 1953-58, and he married a fourth time to Jane Hansen in 1993.

    Dionne Warwick spoke about his passing in a statement to CNN saying, “Burt’s transition is like losing a family member. These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner. On the lighter side, we laughed a lot and had our run-ins but always found a way to let each other know our family-like roots were the most important part of our relationship.”

    Burt Bacharach is survived by his adopted son, Christopher, as well as two children with his fourth wife, Jane Hansen, Oliver, and daughter Raleigh.

  • The life of Television frontman, Tom Verlaine

    Songwriter, singer and guitarist Tom Verlaine embodied the ideals of punk in more ways than one. From turning down a record deal from Clive Davis to inspiring the Ramones themselves, the famed frontman of the band Television left an indelible mark on the punk/alternative music scene of the 70’s.

    Verlaine died on Saturday, Jan. 28 at the age of 73. The musician passed away from an unspecified “brief illness,” according to Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of Patti Smith. 

    Tom Verlaine was the frontman and guitarist for the band Television. He died Jan. 28 at the age of 73. Photo via Getty Images
    Tom Verlaine was the frontman and guitarist for the band Television. He died Jan. 28 at the age of 73. Photo via Getty Images

    Before he was a punk icon, Tom Verlaine was simply Tom Miller, a young boy from New Jersey. When he first heard the Rolling Stones as a teen, he traded in his saxophone for a guitar and embarked down the path of rock n’ roll. 

    Still, his earlier jazz influences, listening to the likes of John Coltrane and Stan Getz, would contribute to his unique style of playing long after he picked up the six-string. In favor of punk’s typical style of gritty power chords, Verlain’s sound was often characterized by comparatively clean and improvisational guitar work.

    Together with his school friend Richard Meyers (stage name Richard Hell), Verlaine would form the band Neon Boys, which after a few member rotations, would become Television.

    CBGB played an important role nurturing early punk bands like Television and the Ramones
    CBGB played an important role nurturing early punk bands like Television and the Ramones | photo via Getty Images

    Television became a fixture of the emerging punk scene in New York in the 1970’s. The band frequently played at the music club CBGB, a venue now famous for its role in nurturing early punk bands like the Ramones and Blondie.

    While Television never quite became a mainstream success, their debut album Marquee Moon, released in 1977, is widely regarded as the quintessential punk album of the decade. Its unique approach to the genre would inspire waves of bands – from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Joy Division – in the years to come. 

    Although only 8 tracks, Marquee Moon was a complex body of work. Its title track alone  is over 10 minutes long. Matt LeMay of Pitchfork, described Veraine’s guitar playing on Marquee Moon in a retrospective review of the album: “Taken out of context, the guitar solos on Marquee Moon aren’t just unimpressive; they’re downright illogical. Everyone who plays guitar will, at some point, learn the solo from “Stairway to Heaven,” but it’s practically impossible to sit down and actually play anything from Marquee Moon.”

    Television's debut album Marquee Moon released 1977. Verlaine, 2nd fromm left
    Television’s debut album Marquee Moon released 1977. Verlaine pictured second from left.

    Initially Marquee Moon ranked on the Billboard 200 albums chart, although it actually performed better in Europe. Decades later the album would be recognized for its truth worth, listed on both Rolling Stone‘s  2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and as number 3 on Pitchfork’s list of the best albums of the 1970s. 

    Television broke up only a year after in 1978, shortly after the release of their second album Adventure. However, in the 90’s they would reunite and release their self-titled third and final album.

    Verlaine was not deterred by the band’s initial breakup, starting his solo career in 1979. Over the decades he put out a mixture of LPs and albums and collaborated with music icons the likes of David Bowie and the Violent Femmes. His last two solo albums, Songs and Other Things and Around, came out in 2006.

    Tom Verlaine of Television playing a modified Jazzmaster | Photo via Reddit
    Tom Verlaine of Television playing a modified Jazzmaster | Photo via Reddit

    Verlaine led a relatively quiet life in the last decade, rarely touring and releasing no new music. He was modest about both his work and career telling the Irish Times in a 2013 interview, that he himself was tired of the hype around Marquee Moon.

    I don’t want to really talk about that record any more. I don’t know why people have such an interest in it. I just don’t get it. So much has been mentioned about that album there’s probably not much more that can be said.

    Tom Verlaine

    He would then add regarding the production, “It’s basically a live record with the mistakes patched up and with some editing here and there. I never think of it in any context in particular. It seems to get rediscovered by a new generation every 10 years or so, which is kinda cool.”

    While Verlaine’s death is tragic, it’s possible even more generations will now discover his iconic work. Those that were already fans of his work now mourn his sudden passing.

    Michale Stipe, formerly of R.E.M said on Instagram, “Bless you Tom Verlaine and thank you for the songs, the lyrics, the voice! And later the laughs, the inspiration, the stories, and the rigorous belief that music and art can alter and change matter, lives, experience. You introduced me to a world that flipped my life upside down. I am forever grateful.”

    Mike Scott of The Waterboys tweeted: “Tom Verlaine has passed over to the beyond that his guitar playing always hinted at. He was the best rock and roll guitarist of all time, and like Hendrix could dance from the spheres of the cosmos to garage rock. That takes a special greatness.”

  • Long Time Gone: David Crosby dies at 81

    David Crosby, a founding member of both The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, died today at age 81. A key player in the mid-60’s L.A. folk-rock scene, Crosby was known for his harmony more than songwriting, as he penned “Guinnevere,” “Wooden Ships,” “Long Time Gone,” “Almost Cut My Hair” and “Déjà Vu,” among others.

    David Crosby at Clearwater Music Festival 2015. Photo by Steve Malinski

    Just yesterday Crosby tweeted on his very active Twitter account about the afterlife, saying Heaven is “overrated….cloudy.”He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once for the Byrds and once for Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. In recent years, he also had an advice column on Rolling Stone, Ask Croz.

    Crosby was born in Los Angeles as the child of famous Hollywood cinematographer Floyd Crosby, who won an Oscar for his work on F.W. Murnau’s 1931 feature Tabu. He gravitated to acting and music at an early age and dropped out of Santa Barbara City College to pursue music. He found himself in the commercial folk music scene via brief membership in Les Baxter’s Balladeers.

    After working at L.A. folk clubs as a solo act, he attracted the attention of Jim Dickson, the house engineer at Richard Bock’s L.A. label World Pacific Records. He was a solo act for a while but eventually formed a band in 1964 when jamming with Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark. They went under different names for a duration, starting as the Beefeaters, then picking up Chris Hillman along the way to become the Byrds.

    The group’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” leapt to No. 1 in the United States singles chart in early 1965. For the next two years, Crosby’s group would reign supreme as America’s version of The Beatles. All of their records under Columbia during this time reached the U.S. top 25. 

    David Crosby at Clearwater Music Festival 2015. Photo by Steve Malinski

    In 1967, Crosby’s time with the Byrds came to a close after an argument at the historic Monterey Pop Festival. He began jamming with Stephen Stills, whose group Buffalo Springfield had recently ended, and Graham Nash, who met the others during a 1966 U.S. tour with the Hollies. David Geffen freed the three from their contracts, and Crosby, Stills & Nash was signed to Atlantic Records.

    The group’s self-titled record was released in May 1969, went to No. 6 on the U.S. chart, and sold four million copies. CS&N won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1969. In August 1969, the group, along with new member Neil Young, performed at Woodstock in front of half a million people, only their second live performance together. After Young’s addition, the group’s 1970 record Déjà Vu went No. 1 and sold seven million copies.

    Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young had continued success until personal problems in Crosby’s life escalated. He was addicted to cocaine and eventually heroin, after his girlfriend Christine Hinton was killed in a car accident in 1970. Young eventually left after that to focus on his solo career, but returned to tour with the others in 1974. 

    During his addiction, Crosby released a 1971 solo debut, If I Could Only Remember My Name, which peaked at No. 12 in 1971. He reunited with the original Byrds lineup in 1972, disbanding after their 1973 release Byrds was dismissed by critics. He reunited with CS&N to release CNS in 1977, and Daylight Again in 1982, before things unraveled very publicly. 

    In April 1982, Crosby was arrested in a Dallas nightclub and charged with possessing a .45 caliber handgun and a pipe for his cocaine use. He was convicted in 1983, and served five months of the five years he was sentenced to in 1986. He credited this conviction to ending his addiction to cocaine. He also suffered from ill health and underwent a liver transplant in 1994, and in 2014 was named “rock’s unlikeliest survivor” by Rolling Stone.

    In 2000, it was revealed by singer Melissa Etheridge that Crosby was the biological father of two children born to her then-partner Julie Cypher via artificial insemination. One of those children, Beckett Cypher, died at the age of 21 in 2020, with Crosby writing “I didn’t get to raise that kid… but he was here many times. I loved him and he loved me and he was family to me.”

    He was convicted and fined for marijuana and firearms possession later in 2004. In 2015 he had another run in with the law, agreeing to pay a $3 million settlement following the filing of a suit that alleged he was intoxicated when he crashed into a jogger.

    His six-decade career culminated in a final solo album, For Free, released in 2021, having kept busy in the last decade by releasing six studio albums. He also put out live albums, including one, David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre, live at the iconic Port Chester venue. The 16-track live offering includes an uncut gem with the song “1974,” a long lost demo that Crosby had sitting around on a hard drive for decades.

    Crosby also dabbled in acting, with stints on Roseanne and in 1991’s Hook.

    In 2017, Crosby embarked on his Sky Trails tour, playing at The Egg in Albany. In 2019, Cameron Crowe would direct the 2019 documentary David Crosby: Remember My Name.

    Crosby retired from performing live in 2021, saying “It’s because I’m old. Being on a bus tour is a daunting task. It’s very hard. It takes it out of you. I’m too old to do it anymore. I don’t have the stamina; I don’t have the strength.” He also said he was “trying really hard to crank out as much music as I possibly can, as long as it’s really good.” He backtracked about that statement, saying he did want to play live again. 

    David Crosby is survived by his wife Jan Dance, their son Django, James Raymond, his son with Celia Crawford Ferguson and two daughters, Erika and Donovan, from previous relationships with Jackie Guthrie and Debbie Donovan. 

  • In Memory of Jeff Beck (1944-2023)

    Not many musicians have the chops to replace Eric Clapton, nor the “stones” to turn down Mick Jagger, but legendary guitarist Jeff Beck was anything but ordinary. Across the world, musicians and music fans alike are mourning the passing of Beck who died Tuesday at age 78. His untimely death has been attributed to the sudden contraction of bacterial meningitis, according to his family and representatives.

    Jeff Beck again UPAC in Kingston, October 2022. Photo by Mickey Deneher

    Jeff Beck was a true pioneer in the guitar field, highly experimental, combining jazz and rock in a unique fusion of genres and sounds. Widely hailed as one of the greatest guitar players of all time, Beck paved the way for both instrumental music and guitarists, experimenting with sound through volume control knobs, pickup selectors and whammy bars while simultaneously inspiring countless subgenres of fusion and psych rock.

    While Beck never quite reached the level of commercial success of peers like Jimmy Page or Rod Stewart, he was greatly admired both by star-studded musicians all the same.

    As Slash told Rolling Stone all the way back in 1999, “It’s a lot easier to appreciate Beck’s guitar playing if you’re a guitar player. He just has such a natural control over the instrument. It’s the ability to make it do something that you’ve never heard anybody else do. Blow by Blow is the album I had when I was a kid. He would go from love songs to a really blistering, hard-rock, heavy-sounding guitar without ever going over the top.”

    But it was with that 1975 release, Blow by Blow, Beck’s second solo album, that many music listeners began to take note as well. The album sent waves through the music industry reaching fourth on the charts and eventually becoming a platinum record. From there, Beck went on to collect seven Grammys for instrumental performances, and an eighth for his 2009 work on Herbie Hancock’s The Imagine Project, over the course of his decades-long career.

    Beck was also perhaps his own biggest critic. Upon his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Yardbirds in 1992 he famously said, “Someone told me I should be proud tonight. But I’m not, because they kicked me out. They did. Fuck them.” This in reference to the fact that the Yardbirds booted him from the band from a series of no-shows on a U.S. tour in 1966.

    But Beck quickly recovered from his departure with the band, forming his own groups and solo projects and collaborating with countless musicians from Buddy Guy to Ozzy Osbourne. He also made it back to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stage on the merits of his solo work in 2009. 

    Beck continued playing and creating music up until his death. November marked the end of his most recent tour supporting his newest collaborative album with Johnny Depp, “Loud Hailer.”  Along the way he performed alongside Depp at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, the Paramount in Huntington, and the Ulster Performing Arts Center, in Kingston, NY. His final live performance took place Nov. 12 in Reno, Nevada.

    Fellow guitarists took to the internet to remember Beck and his lasting legacy. On Twitter, Jimmy Page wrote, “The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff I will miss you along with your millions of fans.”

    Joe Bonamassa similarly tweeted praise to the guitarist for his innovation of the electric guitar: “You’d just give him a guitar and he’d figure out a way to get these sounds out of it, and that’s complete raw talent, it’s not the equipment, it’s just him. RIP to the legendary Jeff Beck.”

    From his time with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group, to his own solo career, Beck touched the lives of countless musicians and listeners and forever changed the possibilities of the electric guitar. Ever the rule-breaker, Beck is gone but not forgotten, solidified in the echelons of rock gods for time immemorial.

  • Legendary Guitarist Jeff Beck dead following Brief Illness

    Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, who played with the Yardbirds, was named one of the top 5 guitarists of all-time by Rolling Stone, and influenced generations of guitarists, has died at age 78.

    jeff beck
    Jeff Beck, performing at UPAC in October 2022. Photo by Mickey Deneher

    The news was shared on Instagram today in a statement from Beck’s family.

    On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing. After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.

    via Jeff Beck Instagram

    Beck was also the frontman for Jeff Beck Group, and Beck, Bogert & Appice, and was known as a ‘guitarist’s guitarist.’ The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – first with The Yardbirds in 1992 and later as a solo artist in 2009, had recently toured with Johnny Depp in Fall 2022, making a stop at UPAC in Kingston. Revisit his performance here.