(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Tenor saxophonist John Stubblefield died July 4 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, NY of prostate cancer. He was 60. Stubblefield was best known for his work with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
Stubblefield was born in Little Rock, AR on February 4, 1945 and moved to Chicago as a young boy. He studied with Muhal Richard Abrams and made his recording debut with Joseph Jarman in 1968.
He moved to New York in 1971 and worked with Mary Lou Williams, Charles Mingus, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Tito Puente, Abdullah Ibrahim, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Gil Evans and Lester Bowie, among others. He also recorded as leader on albums for Storyville, Soul Note, Sutra and Enja.
Hospitalized since April 3, among his many visitors were Bill Cosby and Bill Clinton.
Stubblefield is survived by his friend Katherine Gogol, sister Joyce Patillo and cousins Harry Stubblefield and Stephanie Barber. — Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
