We received news from friends and from Far Out Records‘ press release that legendary drummer and a founding member of jazz-rock icons Azymuth, Ivan “Mamão” Conti, passed away yesterday at 76. He had been prolific over the past few years, and his passing comes as quite a shock. In honor of his passing, we bring you Azymuth at their finest. Rest in peace, Mamão.
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Vangelis has passed away in Paris at the age of 79. His reputation needs no introduction to connoisseurs of music, especially those into soundtracks. For my money, Blade Runner was the jewel in his crown. May he Rest In Peace.
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Today is a very sad day for us here at MYNTH. Klaus Schulze, the legendary composer and keyboardist, passed away on the 26th of April. He was 74. We wish to acknowledge his passing by posting one of my favorite performances.
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Polish jazz legend Zbigniew Namysłowski has departed the world. He played alto saxophone, flute, cello, trombone and piano, and was equally at home playing straight-ahead jazz or acidy funk. He also played on what is considered to be the holy grail of Polish jazz albums, Krzysztof Komeda’s classic LP Astigmatic, as well as collaborating with local luminaries like Janusz Muniak, Leszek Możdżer, Vladislav Sendecki, Michał Urbaniak, and Andrzej Trzaskowski. He was 82. You can read his obituaries here and here. Requiescat in pace.
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The legendary uilleann piper and leader of The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney, is no more. He passed away yesterday at the age of 83. This is a big loss for the world of folk music. In his honor, we post a track that is near and dear to me. The Chieftains toured China many years ago, and this is one of the tunes they brought back from the Middle Kingdom. May Paddy rest in peace. You can read NPR’s obituary here. UPDATE: The Chinese title of this tune is “Xi Yang Yang” (喜洋洋) by Liu Mingyuan (刘明源, 1931-1996).
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Sad news from Greece today. The legendary composer, lyricist and politician Mikis Theodorakis, known for so many pop songs, but forever associated with the song Zorba The Greek passed away today in Athens. He was 96 years old.
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What a terrible thing to wake up to… The legendary dub producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry has left the mortal coil today. Billboard Magazine has a nice obituary and remembrance for the King of Dub. May he have safe travels back to his spiritual home.
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We at MYNTH mourn the loss of the singer of Zvuki Mu and actor of one of the most beautiful films of the past 30 years, Ostrov (The Island), has passed away at the age of 70. Вечная память, брат во Христе и великий художник.
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A legend has passed. Return To Forever was my gateway drug to 70s jazz fusion, opening the door to discovering the band bearing the same name, Miles Davis at the peak of his powers (at least for my taste), the majesty of Weather Report, and delving back into Chick Corea’s back catalog. Corea died of a rare form of cancer at the age of 79. May his memory be eternal.