For many years now, we've collected brief lists of important jazz figures who passed in the previous year. This year it might suffice simply to point you to Andrey Henkin's remarkable Jazz Passings website, which has much more depth on the jazz musicians listed below, and many others.
So what follows is effectively just a cryptic index. The first list covers individuals specifically involved with jazz -- musicians, of course, but also songwriters, producers, some label operators, and several writers and media people. The second list looks beyond jazz, but is much less comprehensive. Some more sources are cited at the end.
A second, briefer list looks beyond jazz to other forms of music:
Some sources for more extensive lists: