2020 Was a Rough Year for Jazz
2020 was certainly a challenging year, one that brought destructive weather, wildfires, acrimonious politics and a deadly pandemic that is not only killing hundreds of thousands worldwide but also causing vast economic dislocations.
Many in the arts have suffered as venues have been forced to close temporarily or permanently and jazz musicians are among those who have struggled to earn a livelihood and remain relevant.
Mainly because of COVID-19, this year is expected to be the deadliest in U.S. history with deaths exceeding 3 million. The jazz community lost many significant members, not just performers but composers, producers, club owners, broadcasters, writers and photographers as well. Several notable deaths due to the coronavirus include pianist and patriarch Ellis Marsalis, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, trumpeter Wallace Roney and saxophonist Lee Konitz.
About the table
The table on the Jazz History website represents an attempt to list most of the jazz-related losses that occurred in 2020. It is arranged chronologically by date of death and includes people from all over the world. In many cases, clicking on the death date takes the reader to the individual’s obituary. Confirmed coronavirus-related fatalities (27 out of 178) are indicated with an asterisk (*).
The jazz community lost many significant members, not just performers but composers, producers, club owners, broadcasters, writers and photographers as well.
While the carnage wrought by COVID-19 has been devastating, it should be noted that not all the deaths listed below resulted from the virus. In many instances the cause of death was indicated to be from “natural causes” or not specified. Nonetheless, 2020 has been a difficult year, to say the least.
This table was compiled using the Jazz Birthday spreadsheet maintained by Nou Dadoun. I am grateful to Nou for letting me use his data.
Let’s remember with admiration and gratitude those we lost in 2020 and hope that 2021 brings a return to something resembling normalcy.
This originally appeared on Noal Cohen’s Jazz History Website.
Noal Cohen is an author, jazz historian, record collector and musician residing in Montclair, N.J. Read more at Jazz From My Perspective.