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R.I.P. Jeff Healey


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Just got this from his U.S. publicist:

Guitarist and bandleader Jeff Healey dies in Toronto hospital

Following a lengthy struggle with cancer, Healey passes away on the eve of the

release of a new blues rock album

Jeff Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, died today (Sunday March 2) in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Toronto. He was 41, and leaves his wife, Cristie, daughter Rachel (13) and son Derek (three), as well as his father and step-mother, Bud and Rose Healey, and sisters Laura and Linda. Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending.

Robbed of his sight as a baby due to a rare form of cancer, retino blastoma, and he started to play guitar when he was three, holding the instrument unconventionally across his lap. He formed his first band at 17, but soon formed a trio which was named the Jeff Healey Band.

After his appearance in the movie “Road House,” he was signed to Arista Records, and in 1988 released the Grammy-nominated album See the Light, which included a major hit single, “Angel Eyes.” He earned a Juno Award in 1990 as Entertainer of the Year. Two more albums emerged on Arista, with lessening success as the ’90s passed. Various “best-of” and live packages were released, and he recorded two more rock albums, before turning to his real love, classic American jazz from the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s.

By then, however, Healey was an internationally-known star who had played with dozens of musicians, including B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and recorded with George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and the late blues legend, Jimmy Rogers.

A family man with a three-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter he preferred to stay close to home. “I’ve traveled widely before — been there and done that,” he told friends, determined to avoid the lengthy, exhausting tours that marked his life in his twenties and early thirties.

A long-running CBC Radio series saw him in the role of disc jockey — “My Kinda Jazz” was a staple for a while, but in recent years he had hosted a program with a similar name on Jazz-FM in Toronto. A highlight of his broadcasts was always the use of rare — and rarely heard — music from his 30,000-plus collection of 78-rpm records.

As his rock career wound down as the millennium came, he recorded a series of three album of early jazz,playing trumpet as well as acoustic guitar in a band he called Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards. The most recent was It’s Tight Like That, recorded live at Hugh’s Room in Toronto in 2005, with British jazz legend Chris Barber as guest star.

At the time of his death he was about to see the release of his first rock/blues album in eight years, Mess of Blues, which is being released in Europe on March 20, and in Canada and the U.S. on April 22. The album was the result of a joint agreement between the German label, Ruf Records, and Stony Plain, the independent Edmonton-based label that has released his three jazz CDs.

Mess of Blues was recorded in studios in Toronto, with two cuts recorded at the Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse in Toronto and two at a concert in London England. The backup group on the upcoming CD — the Healey’s House Band — played with him regularly at the downtown Roadhouse, and at a previous club bearing his name in the Queen-Bathurst area.

Early last year, Healey underwent surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his legs, and later from both lungs; aggressive radiation treatments and chemotherapy, however, failed to halt the spread of the disease.

Despite his battle with cancer, he undertook frequent tours across Canada with both his blues-based band and his jazz group; he was set for a major tour in Germany and the U.K. and was to be a guest on the BBC’s famed Jools Holland Show in April.

Remembered by his musicians — and his audiences — for his wry sense of humor as well as his musical playfulness, Healey was a unique musician who bridged different genres with ease and assurance.

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Again, another talented guy goes way too early. Every interview I've seen or read pointed to a man who overcame unbelievable odds and just let his music shine. A positive attitude throughout - even in the lat few years.

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Very sad. Saw them just after the first album.

But I'm confused - the release says they did "Road House" and the result got them on Arista for the release of "See The Light". But "See The Light" has a release date of 1988, and "Road House" is 1989, and I could swear, though I could be wrong, that I had STL well before RH. Am I just getting old?

Alan

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I didn't know he got into vintage jazz. I'll have to look into those recordings.

Very sad to see him go. Great musical sensibilities and seemed to be a great guy as well.

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Very sad. Saw them just after the first album.

But I'm confused - the release says they did "Road House" and the result got them on Arista for the release of "See The Light". But "See The Light" has a release date of 1988, and "Road House" is 1989, and I could swear, though I could be wrong, that I had STL well before RH. Am I just getting old?

Alan

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Perhaps he did the movie, and while making it got noticed by the Arista folks and they signed him then. I imagine they could have recorded the album and released it before they finished shooting and producing the movie.

Such a shame, and sad for his family. Really a talented musician.

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For me, Healey was one of the players who caused me to remember when and where I first saw/heard his music. It happened to be on MTV; one of those in-studio things, and Healey did a cover of John Hyatt's "Confidence Man"...and I'd never heard the original, so Healey's was the version I'll always recall. He actually stood up and jumped around a bit, adding to the impressive performance. +1 on how his blindness didn't give him an inside advantage; he held his own anyway.

I also recall the same cable channel and setting for the first time I saw/heard Danny Gatton.

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Healey could be judged on his music alone without anyone knowing he was blind or played in an unorthodox way and he would have been recognized as a great talent.

First time I heard him I had no idea who it was. I just remember saying "damn, that's hot." I ran out a few days later and bought the album and then learned about his blindness and playing technique.

RIP, bro...and best wishes to your family.

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