Tuesday

Road House

Arguably one of the most recognized blues-rock guitarist of the early 90's and beloved around the world, Jeff Healey passed away in a Toronto hospital today after a long bout with cancer. He was 41.
Blinded at birth with a rare form of cancer, retinoblastoma, Healey began playing guitar at age three developing the unique style of playing the guitar flat on his lap. Though known primarily as a guitarist, Healey also played trumpet and clarinet proficiently.
Healey burst on the scene after his appearance as leader of a bar band and a integral part of the movie soundtrack in the Patrick Swayze movie "Road House." The movie along with the single would garner a Best Instrumental Grammy Award and propel Jeff Healey and his trio, The Jeff Healey Band" into Canada's highest honor, the Juno Award, for Entertainer of the Year for 1990. 

With the turn of the century, Healey found himself also turning pages. Healey always had loved and preferred the early jazz of the twenties through the forties. He had been sitting in with jazz bands around Toronto since the beginning of his career so his next move made perfect sense with the formation of The Jeff Healey Jazz Wizards and the release of three jazz CD's on Stony Plain Records.

Healey, a family man, a husband and a father of two, preferred to stay home in Canada whenever he could while remaining active in the local music scene hosting multiple jazz-oriented radio shows for Canada's CBC and playing live around the Toronto area.

Healey was on the verge of releasing his first rock-blues album in almost ten 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 released his jazz cd's.

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

Despite bis battles with cancer, he continued to tour with both his jazz group and his blues based band. He was set to tour Germany and the U.K. and be a special guest on the BBC's famed Jools Holland Show in April.

Jeff Healey will always be remembered by his audiences and by his musicians for his abilities, his wry sense of humor and playfulness. Healey was a unique musician who bridged completely different genres with ease and a masterful assurance.....

2 comments:

  1. Hey my man! I didn't even think to click on Byfrost after you left a comment. Cool Blog. How is life up on the hill! As you can see we are still putting in the miles.
    Be cool.
    MJ

    ReplyDelete
  2. Same here, but a lot less miles and at a much slower pace.....

    ReplyDelete