Obituaries

A lifelong Philadelphian, tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna was the definition of a local legend. He died on Nov. 19 at 86.

A saxophonist and educator who mentored generations of young Philadelphia jazz musicians, Tony Williams died on Nov. 11. He was 92.

Bley's pieces could be ethereally beautiful or subversively brash, but always found a grandeur without tilting into pretension.

President JoAnne A. Epps, who died on Sept. 19, served Temple University in various capacities for nearly 40 years.

A master bassist whose influence was felt throughout modern jazz and classical music as well as rock, folk and pop, Richard Davis died on Sept. 6, at 93.

In his horn, subway cars rumbled, buses hissed, traffic screeched and sirens howled. Homeless for more than a decade, Gayle was forever in conversation with the streets of New York.

Equally at home with boppish fluency or a gutbucket blare, Curtis Fowlkes was a trombone virtuoso who collaborated far and wide, co-founding The Jazz Passengers. He died on Aug. 31, at 73.

Andrade was a consummate nightclub artist who sang torridly of love in a husky voice. A fixture in her home country since the '60s, she became a sensation in the U.S. in the 1990s.

A concert pianist who bridged classical music, jazz and pop for more than 65 years, notably in his legendary tenure as conductor of the Philly Pops, Peter Nero died on Thursday in Eustis, Fla. He was 89.

The indefatigable saxophonist who helped redefine jazz in the late 1960s died in his sleep Thursday.