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INTRODUCTION
This is the Rest in Playlist for Friday, April 28th, 2023, featuring artists who passed in the week prior, from April 15th through April 21st. This week the Grim Reaper has collected two nonagenarian jazzmen and one pop singer, a trio of singers from Asia, and musicians England, Croatia, Brazil, and Italy. Our Headliner this week is the great jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. But first, let’s start off the playlist with our Opening Act.
Opening Act:
[19 Apr 2023] Otis Redding III, 59, American singer and guitarist (The Reddings), cancer.
The Reaper is putting back together a musical family this week. The sons of legendary soul singer Otis Redding formed disco funk band back in 1980, with Dexter Redding on bass and vocals and our Opening Act, Otis Redding III, on guitar, who passed away from cancer on April 19th. This next track of theirs went to #6 on the Hot Soul Singles chart but peaked at just #89 on the Hot 100. This is The Reddings with “Remote Control.”
The Reddings – Remote Control
Headliner:
[16 Apr 2021] Ahmad Jamal, 92, American jazz pianist, prostate cancer.
Our Headliner this week is a giant in jazz who passed away on April 16th after over six decades of creative success. Ahmad Jamal, who was born Frederick Russell Jones in 1930, was a Lifetime Achievement Grammy winner. He began playing piano at the age of 3 and started training formally at the age of 7. At age 20 he converted to Islam and changed his name. We’ll have more to say about him later in the show. For now, let’s kick things off with “Ahmad’s Blues.”
Ahmad Jamal – Ahmad’s Blues
Main Stage:
[21 Apr 2023] Mark Stewart, 62, English musician (The Pop Group) and songwriter (“She Is Beyond Good and Evil“, “This Is Stranger Than Love“).
Coming to the Main Stage we have Mark Stewart, who was an English singer and founding member of The Pop Group. He also recorded solo material and collaborated with musicians like Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Mark met the Reaper on April 21st at the age of 62. Here’s The Pop Group with a track Stewart wrote called “She is Beyond Good and Evil.”
The Pop Group – She Is Beyond Good And Evil
[17 Apr 2023] April Stevens, 93, American singer (“Deep Purple“, “Whispering“), Grammy winner (1964).
Next up we have another nonagenarian who on April 17th finally joined the Great Gig in the Sky. 93-year-old April Stevens, born Caroline Vincinette LoTempio, was a 1964 Grammy winner best known for her duets with her younger brother, who went by the less-modified name Nino Tempo. Here she is with Nino on their hit that was later taken up the charts by another brother/sister act, Donny & Marie. This is “Deep Purple…” the song, not the band.
Nino Tempo & April Stevens – Deep Purple
Festival Stage:
[19 Apr 2023] Moonbin, 25, South Korean singer (Astro), actor (Boys Over Flowers, At Eighteen) and dancer.
Now let’s head to the Festival Stage, where we have a trio of artists from Asia. First, we have the youngest artist to join the Rest in Playlist this week at just a tragic 25-years-old. His name is Moonbin, and he was a South Korean singer, actor, dancer, and model under the label Fantagio. He shot to fame in the boy band Astro at age 18. Korean police are considering his death a suicide. This is a track from Astro called “All Night.”
Astro – All Night
[19 Apr 2023] Carlo Saba [id], 54, Indonesian singer (Kahitna), heart disease.
Next, we move on to Indonesia where a founding member of the group Kahitna has died on April 19th from heart disease. Carlo Saba was a vocalist for the group from its founding in 1986 to his death last week. This is their track from 2022 entitled “Soulmate.”
Kahitna – Soulmate
[20 Apr 2021] Pamela Chopra, 75, Indian playback singer (Kabhi Kabhie, Kaala Patthar, Chandni), pneumonia.
Finally, we close the Festival Stage with playback music from India. Pamela Chopra passed away on April 20th from pneumonia. In addition to singing, she was a Bollywood film producer and writer, and lived in a happily-arranged marriage with Bollywood director Yash Chopra from 1970 to his death in 2012. Here she is in duet with Manpreet Kaur on 1995’s “Ghar Aaja Pardesi.”
Pamela Chopra & Manpreet Kaur – Ghar Aaja Pardesi
In the News:
Whenever someone manages to outrun the Reaper for a century or more, we consider that newsworthy here on Rest in Playlist. Joining the audience for the Great Gig in the Sky this week we welcome…
[18 Apr 2023] Pablo González Casanova, 101, Mexican lawyer, sociologist and historian
[21 Apr 2023] Ken Potts, 102, American World War II veteran.
Potts was on the USS Arizona when, at 8:00 am on December 7, 1941, the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Potts helped pull men from the water and took them to shore on Ford Island. Potts died just six days after celebrating his 102nd birthday. Following his death, there is now only one living USS Arizona survivor, Lou Conter.
Jazz Cellar:
[16 Apr 2021] Ahmad Jamal, 92, American jazz pianist, prostate cancer
We’ve got quite the lineup in the Jazz Cellar this week, where our Headliner, Ahmad Jamal, once again takes the stage. Following his 1950 conversion to Islam, Jamal began recording albums, aided by only a bassist and guitarist. Soon, they caught the attention of John Hammond, who signed them to a record deal. By 1958, Jamal is setting the jazz world on fire with his At the Pershing album. Here’s a track from that album that stayed on the charts for over two years, the Gershwin tune “But Not For Me.”
Ahmad Jamal – But Not For Me
[17 Apr 2023] Ivan Conti [pt], 76, Brazilian drummer (Azymuth).
We expand our world of jazz to South America and a band called Azymuth with a Y, not to be confused with the British jazz band Azimuth with an I. Ivan Conti was a drummer for the Brazilian Azymuth who passed away on April 17th at the age of 76. The group’s discography spans 1975 to 2020, so we just chose the tune with the cleverest name. This is Azymuth with “Brazymuth.”
Azymuth – Brazymuth
[15 Apr 2023] Peter Badie, 97, American jazz bass player.
The oldest artist to join the gig eternal with week is 97-year-old Peter Badie, who was an American jazz double- bass player. Badie was born in 1925, the son of a professional New Orleans jazz musician. He worked with Roy Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Dr. John, and was a part of Lionel Hampton’s orchestra, heard here on their cover of “La Vie en Rose.”
Lionel Hampton – La Vie en Rose
International Stage:
[17 Apr 2023] Morena Marjanović, 36, Croatian pop singer and reality television contestant, leukemia.
To open up the International Stage we travel to Croatia where a young 36-year-old joins the Rest in Playlist. Her name was Morena Marjanović and she was a pop singer and reality television contestant who also studied fashion and design. Sadly, she succumbed to leukemia on April 17th. Here she is singing “Zena Od Kamena.”
Marena Marjanovic – Zena Od Kamena
[19 Apr 2023] Federico Salvatore, 63, Italian singer-songwriter and comedian, complications from a cerebal haemorrhage.
And finally, we close the week with Federico Salvatore from Italy. Born in 1959, Salvatore was a singer, songwriter, and comedian who rose to fame in the late 1980s with his humorous and satirical songs. He was collected by the Grim Reaper on April 19th following a stroke. Here he is with a song that caused some controversy for its critique of the city of Naples, entitled “Se Io Fossi Sen Gennaro.”
Federico Salvatore – Se Io Fossi San Gennaro
Encore:
[19 Apr 2023] Otis Redding III, 59, American singer and guitarist (The Reddings), cancer.
As the Reaper likes to remind us, we’re almost out of time. But for an encore, we return Otis Redding III to the stage with his brother Dexter, performing the hit song that made their dad famous. Here’s The Reddings with their funked-up version of “The Dock of the Bay.”
The Reddings – The Dock Of The Bay
Closing
And that’s the Rest in Playlist for Friday, April 28th, 2023, featuring artists who passed the week before. Join us here next week for a tribute to the artists who have passed this week, featuring our headliner, the late great Harry Belafonte. For Rest in Playlist, I’m “Radical” Russ Belville reminding you to seize the day, it may be your last.
