R.I.P. WALLACE RONEY

[Shadow]

[Burley Wright]

Damn this coronavirus to hell. Roney was one of my favorite trumpeters, beautiful tone and expressive as hell. In addition to his own albums I love his work on the Miles In India compilation and Jazz Criminal with Patrick Gleeson and Jim Lang.

RIP

[Poisoned Youth]

CRAP.

[mogrooves]

A good player, though not a particular favorite of mine, his early death is an unwelcome surprise. RIP

[simon moon]

Great player for sure.

Bummer....

[wideopenears]

oh, fuck....

[walt]

Sad news.RIP

[proggy_jazzer]

Jeez, what a drag. I wasn't a huge fan, but his was an important voice on his instrument and in jazz generally, and he was only a year older than I. I'm afraid this doesn't bode well for the next few weeks in terms of COVID-19-related deaths in the Arts community. I hope I'm wrong.

[StarThrower]

Ellis Marsalis has also died from Covid-19 in New Orleans.

[TCC]

So sad ... RIP!!.

np: Blue Dawn - Blue Nights.

[Jerjo]

RIP - we are losing musicians right and left from this thing!

[jkelman]

I posted this on my Facebook page, the day of Wallace’s passing:

I was so sad to hear, today, of the first COVID-19 casualty that I actually knew.

Wallace Roney was only 59 when he passed away today from COVID-19 complications and, while I’d hardly say we knew each other well, I did write liners for his 2013 album Understanding, and we met a number of times back in my globe-trotting days. He was a total gentleman, a monster trumpeter and a guy who truly understood the value of a great drummer. He played with some of the greatest of the greats while, at the same time, mentoring younger players...passing it on, as we all should, in whatever we do, because there are always other people who have helped each of us become who we are, right?

It’s hard to imagine that, in such a short span of time (and for two very different reasons), the world of music has lost two shining lights in Wallace Roney and Bill Rieflin, who passed away just a couple of days earlier.

—————-
From publicist Lydia Liebman:

Dear friends,

I am saddened to confirm that the iconic trumpeter and jazz legend Wallace Roney passed away due to complications of COVID-19 this morning just before noon. The family is looking to have a memorial service to honor Wallace and his musical contributions once this pandemic has passed. Please respect their privacy at this time.

Working with Wallace was and will remain one of the greatest privileges of my life. It was an honor to represent him and to be part of his musical world. I cannot even begin to express how much I will miss him and his music.

Please, friends, be safe.

With love and light,
Lydia
—————-

All I can say, in this moment of grief? He will be sorely missed. I hope all of you reading this are taking good care to stay safe and well.

Gone far too soon, RIP Wallace; we love you still.

I was lucky to have gotten to know him, even if only a bit. And he was on my bucket list of musicians for whom I always wanted to write a liner note, so am grateful I had the chance.