The jazz world lost two greats this weekend: pianist-harpist Alice Coltrane and saxophonist Michael Brecker. Both were musical titans who never entirely received their due.
Coltrane, in particular, was the focus of much criticism for her role in husband John's final bands. I've always found this inexplicable; listening to any one of those late sessions, it's hard to imagine a pianist finding a more supportive and engaged role in the saxophonist's whorls of spiritual ecstasy. Alice was exactly the right pianist at the right time for that stage of John Coltrane's quest. After his death, she led a series of fine albums before retreating into monastic life; her final disc, 2004's Translinear Light, held the promise of so much more. It was not to be: she succumbed to respiratory failure on Friday in West Hills, CA. (The Los Angeles Times obit is here.)
As Darcy James Argue noted earlier today, we all knew that Michael Brecker was living on borrowed time. When the saxophonist was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare and deadly bone affliction, a call for bone marrow donors was widely circulated; eventually, Brecker's condition developed into leukemia. A musician both technically untouchable and deeply soulful, yet often seemingly held at arm's length by cognoscenti for his involvement in (gasp!) commercially successful music including fusion, Brecker passed away on Saturday in New York City. Ethan Iverson has posted a pointed remembrance from Mark Turner. (An obit from The New York Times is here.)
Condolences to the families and loved ones of these two great musicians.
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