Larry willis rip. Richard wyands rip...

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Not a good month for pianists, especially very fine ones...

"Mike LeDonne (Facebook)
18 hrs ·
Something very bad is happening in the universe right now because some of our greatest artists/people are dropping like flies! Just this morning I found out that Larry Willis and Richard Wyands have both passed away. These were old and dear friends of mine that were also my heroes.
I'm still reeling from losing Harold Mabern and now this. I really have no words to express how I feel except to say that this is a very sad time. Losing these 3 masters so close together is very weird and feels very heavy."

So few of that era remaining now. RIP.

BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

I am pretty sure that Larry Willis was one of the pianists on Branford Marsalis' "Royal Garden Blues" album but, other than that, I was aware of him through his work with Carla Bley on the album "Night-Glo." This is a very strange disc because it bordered on Smooth Jazz albeit the compositions were very catchy. It is a very 1980s album. I had no idea of how many musicians Larry Willis had worked with and was surprised to find out how old he was. I had always associated him with the New Neos in the 1980s but wasn't aware that he went back further than that.

What is sad is that there is now a whole generation of jazz pianists like Willis, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller and James Williams who the "go to" pianists in the 1980s and who have all passed on, often too early. A lot of negative comments were made at the time regarding these musicians coming out of "the traditions" or of them owing an allegiance to either McCoy or Herbie but I feel that the aggressive attack of this style of playing is something I miss in a lot of contemporary jazz. Like Harold Mabern, I think they got a bit taken for granted and it is only now that you sense that they had something that the younger players seem to miss.

[elmo]

Ian

Larry goes back well before the 80's. witness this beautiful tribute to Eric Dolphy recorded in 1965 with superb intensely moving solo's from Jackie Mc lean and Larry Willis on Larry's composition "Poor Eric.

https://youtu.be/5bJc6MdR7KU

elmo