A Bad Week for R&B
I’m almost starting to believe those crass predictions on celebrity deaths. After the passing of two significant R&B figures earlier in the week, by both Jimmy Castor and Johnny Otis,…
Tommy Ardolino (1955-2012): NRBQ Drummer, Musicologist, Pussycat
Sad to hear of the passing Friday of Tom Ardolino, the gentle soul and longstanding drummer of one of America’s great rock bands, NRBQ. He would have been 55 this…
My Friend Rich Sivel
I am sorry that I missed the memorial meeting for my friend Rich Sivel this afternoon in Hartford. It had only been 10 days or so ago that he was…
Remembering Cesaria Evora, 1941-2011
Cesaria Evora, the Grammy winner who introduced the West African sounds of Morna to the world late in her life, died Saturday in her native island of sao Vicente in…
Remembering Patrice O’Neal
Patrice O’Neal, who died Tuesday at 41, the result of a stroke he suffered last month, was an uncompromising comic who challenged audiences and didn’t mind not being the most…