Jazz icon and Miles Davis collaborator Jack DeJohnette dead at 83
Legendary jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette has died aged 83.
Over the course of his spellbinding career, DeJohnette worked with a number of all-time greats including Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollings, and Alice Coltrane.
No cause of death has been given in regards to the passing of DeJohnette, however, a press representative for the record label, ACM, did confirm the news to The Guardian.
Initially, DeJohnette who was born in Chicago in 1943, began by playing the piano before switching to the drums as a teenager, and moved to New York City in the 1960s to follow his passion. During this time, he performed with an array of established names, including Will Evans, and then began playing with Miles Davis in 1969.
With Davis, DeJohnette contributed to classic records like Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson, which made the world take notice of him as a drummer.
In an interview with Elsewhere in 2011, he reflected on his time with Davis, sharing, “It was not any more than what rock musicians would do, just go into the studio and record and keep the tape rolling. Teo would patch it together and get those fresh moments and Miles would approve of it.”
DeJohnette continued, “So it was an on-going improvisational process in the studio. But sometimes Miles gave clear instructions and he directed everything so it was a work in progress being documented.”
In 1971, DeJohnette stopped working with Davis to focus on his own work as a bandleader after previously releasing his first album, The DeJohnette Complex, three years prior. However, during this decade, he continued to work with Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins.
In 2009, DeJohnette won ‘Best New Age Album’ for Peace Time at the 51st Grammy Awards. He won his final Grammy in 2022 for ‘Best Jazz Instrumental Album’ for Skyline.
His other accolades include being named a NEA Jazz Master in 2012, and he was also inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2007.
DeJohnette is survived by his wife, Lydia, and their two children, Farah and Minya.
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