Saturday, March 15, 2008

R.I.P.: Dennis Irwin

The great jazz bassist Dennis Irwin died on March 10, 2008 in Manhattan, NY.
Irwin was born on November 28, 1951 in Birmingham, Alabama.
A great musician, a great human being, he was married to Aria Hendricks, one of Jon Hendrick's daughters.
I was introduced to Irwin's artistry through Dom Salvador's "My Family" album, released by Muse Records in 1976. Among his many outstanding performances in recent years, my personal favorite one is on Don Sebesky's 1999 double-Grammy winner album "Joyful Noise".

As far as I remember - although none of the obituaries mention it -, Dennis Irwin's one and only album as a (co-)leader, "Focus", was recorded with late pianist James Williams in 1977 at Studio Minuti "67", Bologna, for the celebrated Italian jazz label Red.

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