SAN FRANCISCO (CelebrityAccess) — Bobby Hutcherson, the innovative American jazz vibraphone, and marimba player, has died. He was 75.
According to the Associated Press, Hutcherson died at his family home near San Francisco from complications related to emphysema.
Hutcherson, whose career spanned more than 50 decades, was best known for his releases on Blue Note Records in the 1960s and 1970s, including Stick-Up! (1966) and Idle Moments (1965).
Both a musician and a bandleader, Hutchinson performed with a host of jazz greats, including Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Joshua Redman, Herbie Lewis and Dexter Gordon.
"I remember when he first came on the jazz scene in New York in the early '60s a young Bobby with a whole new approach to playing the vibraphone," Hancock said in an email to The AP. "Throughout the years his playing and his compositions have continued to be exciting and brilliant. Bobby always had a positive attitude towards everyone and everything."
Hutcherson is survived by his wife, Rosemary, and sons Teddy and Barry, who has taken up the family business as a jazz drummer. – Staff Writers
