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Sunday, November 2, 2025

Unpopular Music - RIP Jack DeJohnette

 We lost one of the greats this past weekend when Jack DeJohnette died at the age of 83.

I discovered Jack in my initial immersion into jazz. He kept turning up in various places, and the Special Edition group was riding high earning praise for its playing and the leader's compositions. Any exploration of jazz history of the last sixty years or so will find DeJohnette in various corners - the AACM, Blue Note sessions, Miles Davis' electric explorations, the development of fusion, the beginnings of the ECM sound, the high Marsalis-Era's Neo-classicism, Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman's mighty collaboration, Kieth Jarrett's Standards Trio, and collaborations with masters old and new.

What's presented here is a broad yet arbitrary selection covering forty years or so. As our old friend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act restricts how many tracks from a single artist I can use in a single post, we feature many appearances of Jack the role that the tribute in this week's ECM newsletter describes as "an energizing participant across a broad range of styles and idioms"

See the playlist after the jump... 

 

 

artist 

track 

album 

comments 

label/date 

Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition 

PM's AM 

Audio-Visualscapes 

Jack DeJohnette (d, syn) Mick Goodrick (g) Greg Osby (as) Lonnie Plaxico (b) Gary Thomas (ts) 

Impulse! 

1988 

Jackie McLean 

Climax 

Jacknife 

Jackie McLean (as) Lee Morgan (trp) Larry Willis (p) Larry Ridley (b) Jack DeJohnette (d, comp) 

Blue Note 

1965 

Joe Lovano 

Cleveland Circle 

Universal Language 

Joe Lovano (ts) Judi Silvano (voc) Tim Hagans (trp) Kenny Werner (p) Charlie Haden (b) Jack DeJohnette (d) 

Blue Note 

1992 

Jack DeJohnette 

Dancing 

Parallel Realities 

Jack DeJohnette (d, syn) Pat Metheny (g, syn, comp) Herbie Hancock (p) 

MCA 

1990 

Dave Holland Trio 

Blue 

Triplicate 

Dave Holland (b) Steve Coleman (as) Jack DeJohnette (d, tune) 

ECM 

1988 

Keith Jarrett 

Dancing 

Changeless 

Keith Jarrett (p) Gary Peacock (b) Jack DeJohnette (d) 

ECM 

1987 

Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition 

Silver Hollow 

Irresistible Forces 

Jack DeJohnette (keys) Gary Thomas (flt) Greg Osby (as) Lonnie Plaxico (b) Mick Goodrick (g) Naná Vasconcelos (prc) 

Impulse! 

1987 

McCoy Tyner with Bela Fleck 

Trade Winds 

Guitars 

McCoy Tyner (p) Bela Fleck (bnj) Ron Carter (b) Jack DeJohnette (d) 

Half Note 

2006 

Harold Mabern 

Crescent 

Straight Street 

Harold Mabern (p) Ron Carter (b) Jack DeJohnette (d) 

Tune by John Coltrane 

DIW 

1989 

The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony 

Mirrors 

The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony - Live at the Joyous Lake 

Julius Hemphill (as, comp) Baikida Carroll (trp) Dave Holland (vc) Jack DeJohnette (d) 

New World 

1979 

Miles Davis Quintet 

Bitches Brew 

Live In Europe 1969 The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 

Miles Davis (trp) Wayne Shorter (ss, ts) Chick Corea (el-p) Dave Holland (b) Jack DeJohnette (d) 

Columbia Legacy 

1969 

Don Byron 

Homegoing 

Romance with the Unseen 

Don Byron (clt) Bill Frisell (g) Drew Gress (b) Jack DeJohnette (d) 

Blue Note 

1999 

Miles Davis 

Willie Nelson (insert 2) 

The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions 

Miles Davis (trp) Bennie Maupin (b clt) John McLaughlin (g) Sonny Sharrock (g, echoplex) Chick Corea (el-p) Dave Holland (b) Jack De Johnette (d) 

Columbia Legacy 

1970 

Jack DeJohnette 

India 

Special Edition 

Jack DeJohnette (p, d) David Murray (b clt) Arthur Blythe (as) Peter Warren (b) tune by John Coltrane 

ECM 

1979 

 

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