Jazz Notables We Lost in 2026

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 sources are cited at the end.

• Richie Beirach, 78, pianist [01-26]
• Bengt Berger, 83, Swedish drummer [05-15]
• Heddy Boubaker, , French saxophonist and bassist []
• Willie Colón, 75, salsa trombonist/trumpeter/percussionist bandleader [02-21]
• Ron Escheté, 77, guitarist [05-20]
• Gary Foster, 89, American reeds player [05-24]
• Gunter Hampel, 88, German musician [05-18]
• Mark Holston, 79, American jazz critic [02-18]
• Abdullah Ibrahim, 91, South African pianist [06-15]
• Keith Ingham, 88, British pianist [03-12]
• Rebecca Kilgore, 76, American standards singer [01-07]
• Sadanori Nakamure, 93, Japanese guitarist [06-04]
• Joe Negri, 99, guitarist [05-30]
• Ken Peplowski, 66, American clarinetist/saxophonist [02-02]
• Michel Portal, 90, French saxophonist/clarinetist [02-12]
• Doug Ramsey, 91, author [05-19]
• Sonny Rollins, 95, Saxophone Colossus [05-25]
• Jesper Thilo, 84, Danish reeds player [04-25]
• Ralph Towner, 85, American guitarist [01-18]
• James "Blood" Ulmer, 86, American guitarist [06-03]
• Dan Wall, 72, American keyboardist (mostly organ) [04-14]
• Carlos Ward, 85, Panamanian-born saxophonist [01-16]
• Mike Westbrook, 90, British pianist/bandleader [04-11]

A second list looks beyond jazz to other forms of music:

• Afrika Bambaata, 68, American hip-hop pioneer [04-09]
• Asha Bhosle, 92, Indian singer [04-12]
• Roy Book Binder, 82, American blues singer-songwriter [03-03]
• Peabo Bryson, 75, American r&b singer-songwriter [06-02]
• Clarence Carter, 90, American soul singer-songwriter [05-13]
• David Clayton Thomas, 84, American singer (Blood Sweat & Tears) [06-24]
• David Allan Coe, 86, American country singer [04-29]
• Clive Davis, 94, American record producer and executive [06-22]
• Sly Dunbar, 73, Jamaican drummer (Sly & Robbie) [01-26]
• John P. Hammond, 83, American blues guitarist-singer [02-28]
• Dave Mason, 79, British singer-songwriter (Traffic) [04-19]
• Country Joe McDonald, 84, American singer-songwriter (Country Joe and the Fish) [03-07]
• Neil Sedaka, 86, American singer-songwriter [02-27]
• Ebo Taylor, 90, Ghanaian guitarist [02-08]
• Michael Tilson Thomas, 81, classical music conductor [04-22]
• Bob Weir, 78, Grateful Dead guitarist [01-10]
• Victor Willis, 75, American singer (Village People) [06-30]
• Tony Wilson, 89, Trinidadian singer-sonwriter (Hot Chocolate) [04-24]

Some sources for more extensive and detailed lists:

• Jazz Passings
• Wikipedia Deaths in 2026; also in popular music