Obituaries

Don Sebesky, whose dynamic flair as a composer and arranger left an indelible mark on the sound of modern jazz and pop orchestration, died on April 29 in Maplewood, NJ. He was 85.

The Canadian singer-songwriter wrote classics like "If You Could Read My Mind," "Early Morning Rain" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

The pianist's 1958 recording At The Pershing: But Not For Me spent 108 weeks on the Billboard album chart.

A legendary music educator in his hometown of New Orleans, tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan was also a heroic voice in the improvising avant-garde. He died on April 7 at 87, but his legacy lives on in myriad ways.

As an improviser, on piano and vibraphone, and as co-founder of the Creative Music Studio, Karl Berger had an outsize influence on the jazz avant-garde. He died on April 9, at 88.

The influential Japanese composer died March 28 from cancer. A wide-ranging musician, the Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder was a synth-pop idol and the writer of sweeping movie scores.

The composer and saxophonist, who won a dozen Grammy Awards and recorded with everyone from Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell, died on Thursday, March 2 in Los Angeles.

Jerry Dodgion, a saxophonist and flutist whose pure, lyrical sound and consummate professionalism made him a first-call sideman for more than 65 years, died on Feb. 17 in Queens, New York. He was 90.

The songwriter and singer, who cemented his prominence with hits like "Say A Little Prayer" and "Walk on By," died Wednesday of natural causes.

A songbook interpreter with a smoky, subtle style, Carole Sloane had a career equally touched by good fortune and bad timing. She died on Jan. 23, of complications from a stroke.