John's death may have been sudden, but he had dealing with health issues for a few years. I remember meeting and speaking with him in the summer of 2009. I hadn't seen him for a few years and I was a bit shocked by how frail he had become. But he was speaking enthusiastically about a Rossano Sportiello solo piano recording he had produced just a few days before. And he still had some projects in the pipeline. He kept going to the end.
Here's a Sackville recording I missed when it first came out in 1979/80. I only discovered it a few years ago when I bought the Delmark CD re-issue. It is excellent.
edited to ask - Ken - do you have the 3 CD set - 40 Years of Sackville? - a superb compilation of prime tracks from the label's recordings, chosen by Norris himself. Very few labels had the breadth of Sackville in stylistic terms - from very traditional jazz right through to the avant-garde.