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Wallace Roney R.I.P (COVID-19 victim)


soulpope

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My god....

i saw him at the revived Cafe Bohemia in NYC on January 11. It was a fantastic gig! He was a very heavy-set man and could do not get up and about without difficulty, but he played superbly.  Immediately after the concert I bought his new album that just came out last year. Blue Dawn- Blue Nights is really good, refreshing, inventive post-bop, infinitely better than the cookie-cutter, uninspiring music the conservatory graduates are churning out on industrial scale these days.

AND I was slated to hear him at Briwn University on March 14. That concert was canceled due to quarantine at the last moment.  Oh man..

Edited by Dmitry
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I saw him four times, three times as a bandleader and once as part of a star-studded Brubeck tribute (I seem to recall that he played an unabashedly pretty version of 'In Your Own Sweet Way').  Although his bands could suffer from his use of inexperienced musicians, he took obvious pride in serving as a mentor.  

The last time I saw him was in June when he played a fiery miniature set as part of a Coltrane tribute.   His band was better than I'd seen him with before.  I'll remember how encouraging he was to his young bandmates that night.  

Thank you for the music, Mr. Roney, and rest in peace.

Edited by Justin V
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14 minutes ago, gmonahan said:

This is dreadful. What a wonderful talent he was! Tragically, I doubt he will be the last great musician we lose to this scourge.

Very sad.  I agree; there are a few other NYC-based musicians I am very worried about...

I'm not 100% sure I did see Roney, though it is likely I did at the Jazz Showcase or at the Chicago Jazz Fest.

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More horrible news. Ugh. :( 

I had the opportunity to meet and spend some time with Wallace Roney many years ago, when he was young man playing with Tony Williams' band.  He was a very friendly and obviously a huge talent.

I'm so sorry to hear that he's gone. ... And he wasn't even 60 years old!

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Very sad news. Although I heard him live that I can remember once with Tony Williams and once with Al Foster, I regret even more now missing him a couple of times recently when he appeared with his own band in my area. Never take for granted that there will be another opportunity. My prayers go out to his family.

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