CHARLIE HADEN | July 11 (age 76) | Polio ended his country singing career at 15, so Haden became an instrumentalist. He enjoyed a nearly 60-year career as a pioneering jazz bassist and composer, finding fame with Ornette Coleman’s quartet and Keith Jarrett’s trio.
CHARLIE HADEN | July 11 (age 76) | Polio ended his country singing career at 15, so Haden became an instrumentalist. He enjoyed a nearly 60-year career as a pioneering jazz bassist and composer, finding fame with Ornette Coleman’s quartet and Keith Jarrett’s trio. (Photo: Chris Pizzello, AP)
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  • CHARLIE HADEN | July 11 (age 76) | Polio ended his country singing career at 15, so Haden became an instrumentalist. He enjoyed a nearly 60-year career as a pioneering jazz bassist and composer, finding fame with Ornette Coleman’s quartet and Keith Jarrett’s trio.
  • PAUL HORN | June 29 (age 84) | A trip to India in 1968, where Horn meditated with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and The Beatles, steered the flutist away from mainstream jazz to a mellower music that would become known as new age.
  • BOBBY WOMACK | June 27 (age 70) | The revered soul man and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer played guitar in Sam Cooke's band, produced Sly Stone, and wrote hits recorded by the Rolling Stones ('It's All Over Now') and Wilson Pickett ('I'm a Midnight Mover').
  • MABON “TEENIE” HODGES | June 22 (age 68) | Famed as the anchor of the celebrated Hi Rhythm Section, the Memphis soul guitarist also co-wrote scores of Al Green classics, among them ‘Here I Am,’ ‘L-O-V-E (Love),’ ‘Love and Happiness’ and ‘Take Me to the River.’ In recent years, music fans knew him as rapper Drake’s uncle.
  • JIMMY C. NEWMAN | June 21 (age 86) | That "C" stood for "Cajun," the preferred genre of the Grand Ole Opry's Cajun country pioneer. The Louisiana-born performer was famous for hits such as 'Cry, Cry, Darling,' 'Seasons of My Heart' and 'A Fallen Star.'
  • GERRY GOFFIN | June 19 (age 75) | With then-wife Carole King, he wrote dozens of top 40 hits, among them '(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman' and 'Take Good Care of My Baby.' Their partnership ended, but Goffin went on to co-write such hits as 'Saving All My Love for You.'
  • HORACE SILVER | June 18 (age 85) | The jazz pianist and hard-bop pioneer co-founded the Jazz Messengers and composed such classics as 'Song for My Father' and 'Nica's Dream.'
  • JIMMY SCOTT | June 12 (age 88) | The Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist with the high-pitched, youthful voice performed with Elton John and Sting and counted Madonna among his famous fans.
  • DON DAVIS | June 5 (age 75) | The Detroit musician and producer behind hits from Johnnie Taylor ('Who's Making Love'), Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. ('You Don't Have to Be a Star to Be in My Show') went on to helm First Independence Bank, one of the country's biggest black-owned banks.
  • HERB JEFFRIES | May 25 (age 100) | The black “singing cowboy” starred in Westerns such as 'The Bronze Buckaroo' and 'Harlem on the Prairie.' He recorded signature song ‘Flamingo’ in 1940 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and went on to score solo hits with ‘Basin Street Blues’ and ‘When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano.’
  • DJ E-Z ROCK | April 27 (age 46) | The Harlem hip-hop pioneer born Rodney "Skip" Bryce, right, recorded 1988 hit "It Takes Two" with pal Rob Base, left, a smash that would be subsequently sampled by the Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, Gang Starr, Girl Talk and Ciara.
  • KEVIN SHARP | April 19 (age 43) | While battling bone cancer in high school, Sharp, center, asked the Make-A-Wish foundation to introduce him to producer David Foster. Years later, that connection led Sharp to hit No. 1 on the country chart with his debut single, 1995's "Nobody Knows."
  • JESSE WINCHESTER | April 11 (age 69) | The Louisiana-born singer/songwriter, who moved to Canada in 1967 to avoid the Vietnam War draft, wrote tunes that drew upon folk, country and blues and were covered by George Strait, Jimmy Buffett and the Everly Brothers.
  • FRANKIE KNUCKLES | March 31 (age 59) | The pioneering Chicago DJ and producer hailed as the "Godfather of House" worked with everyone from Chaka Khan to Michael Jackson.
  • DAVE BROCKIE | March 23 (age 50) | GWAR's longtime frontman, aka Oderus Urungus, skewered the metal paradigm with creepy costumes, over-the-top antics and profane lyrics.
  • SCOTT ASHETON (wearing cap) | March 15 (age 64) | As a co-founder of The Stooges, the hard-hitting drummer (seen at the band's 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction) helped bridge the gap from raw '60s rock to explosive '70s punk.
  • FRANNY BEECHER (right) | Feb. 24 (age 92) | His blazing lead guitar helped usher in the rock 'n' roll era on hits by Bill Haley and His Comets, such as "Don't Knock the Rock" and "See You Later, Alligator."
  • BOB CASALE | Feb. 17 (age 61) | The guitarist and his brother Gerald were one of two sets of siblings in the new-wave band Devo, famed for 1980 hit "Whip It."
  • WILLIAM 'BUNNY RUGS' CLARKE | Feb. 2 (age 65) | Even Stevie Wonder admired the reggae star's voice, says Third World bandmate Willie Stewart. “When Bunny hit those high notes in ‘Try Jah Love,’ you would see a big smile on Stevie’s face while he swayed his head from side to side in great approval that this man had the pipes (to) deliver his song,” Stewart told USA TODAY.
  • PETE SEEGER | Jan. 27 (age 94) | The folk singer felt that music and politics could intertwine, influencing artists such as Bob Dylan and Don McLean to do the same. He won countless awards and continued his humanitarian efforts for decades, including cleaning up the Hudson River.
  • JOE EVANS | Jan. 17 (age 97) | The Carnival Records founder played alto and baritone saxophone, flute and clarinet, touring with Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker in the 1940s and '50s and backing up Stevie Wonder and The Supremes in the '60s as part of the Motown Revue. He later retired from music and earned a master’s degree in education from Rutgers University.
  • PHIL EVERLY (left) | Jan. 3 (age 74) | The younger half of the Everly Brothers, whose sweet harmonies earned them admission into both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame. In addition to hits "Bye Bye Love" and "Wake Up Little Susie," the duo helped inspire rock legends including The Beatles and Warren Zevon.
  • JAY TRAYNOR (left) | Jan. 2 (age 69) | The original “Jay” of Jay and the Americans reached success with hit single "She Cried" and later toured with Jay Siegel's Tokens.
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Charlie Haden, a bassist whose music drew from many streams of American music, died Friday morning in Los Angeles. He was 76.
Haden's record label, ECM, released the following statement Friday afternoon:
It is with deep sorrow that we announce that Charlie Haden, born August 6, 1937 in Shenandoah, Iowa, passed away today at 10:11 Pacific time in Los Angeles after a prolonged illness. Ruth Cameron, his wife of 30 years, and his children Josh Haden, Tanya Haden, Rachel Haden and Petra Haden were all by his side.
Haden began his career early, having been born into a musical family that had its own radio show and often played the Ozark Jubilee, a country-music broadcast out of Missouri that featured the Carter Family, Chet Atkins and Porter Wagoner. He made his on-air debut at the age of 2. Even as Haden, who began playing bass in his teens, journeyed into jazz, latin music and other styles, his playing often remained rooted in those foundational melodic experiences.
Haden moved to Los Angeles in 1957 and fell in with the West Coast jazz crowd, performing and recording with Hampton Hawes, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper andDexter Gordon. He became an original member of the Ornette Coleman Quartet, appearing on the saxophonist's seminal 1959 album The Shape of Jazz to Come.
During a career that spanned more than half a century, Haden also collaborated withKenny Barron, Carla Bley, Paul Bley, Michael Brecker, Alan Broadbent, Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Jack DeJohnette, Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau, Paul Motian, Dewey Redman, Archie Shepp and Ernie Watts.
Haden won three Grammy Awards, the first for his 1997 album with guitarist Pat Metheny, Beyond the Missouri Sky. He won best latin-jazz album for his two recordings with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, 2001's Nocturne and2004's Land of the Sun. Haden also was the recipient of a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2013.
In 2008, he recorded an album called Rambling Boy that paid tribute to his roots in country and folk music. Recorded at Ricky Skaggs' studio in Hendersonville, Tenn., it featured many Nashville musicians, as well as Pat Metheny, Bruce Hornsby and his four children, all of whom had followed musical paths of their own.
Haden released his final album, a set of duets with pianist Keith Jarrett called Last Dance, in June on ECM.
The family plans to hold a private funeral, though details of a public memorial service will be announced later.
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