|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| Violinst Vassar Clements dies at 77 Vassar Clements, a fiddle virtuoso and A-list studio musician who played with Paul McCartney and an array of other music legends, died at his home Tuesday after battling lung cancer. He was 77. Clements was hospitalized for 18 days earlier this year, receiving chemotherapy and other treatment. He had been under hospice care in recent weeks. ”He had no quality of life since he'd been diagnosed, ” said daughter Midge Cranor, who added that the cancer had spread to his liver and brain. Clements - whose wife, Millie, died in 1998 - last performed Feb. 4 in Jamestown, N.Y., Cranor said. ”God blessed me in that I was able to hold his hand when he died, ” she said. Clements' work bridged various styles, including country, jazz, bluegrass, rock 'n' roll and classical. During his career, he recorded on more than 2, 000 albums, joining artists as varied as McCartney, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Hornsby, Hank Williams Jr., the Byrds, Woody Herman and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Clements, a Kinards, S.C., native who grew up in Kissimmee, Fla., also recorded more than two dozen albums of his own. The 2005 Grammy for best country instrumental performance went to Earl's Breakdown, by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band featuring Clements, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs and Jerry Douglas. ”He got his start in bluegrass, but he was equally comfortable playing bebop and jazz and rock 'n' roll and he loved all those genres, ” said Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Clements, who appeared in Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville, taught himself to play at age 7 and had no formal training. The first song he learned was There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlour. ”It was God's gift, something born in me, ” he said about his talent. “I was too dumb to learn it any other way. I listened to the (Grand Ole) Opry some. I'd pick it up one note at a time. I was young, with plenty of time and I didn't give up. You'd come home from school, do your lessons and that's it. No other distractions.” write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |