obituaries

Music & Culture

Tony Rice, A Giant Of The Acoustic Guitar, Dead At 69

7:33pm December 27, 2020

by Tom Cole

Tony Rice first gained attention as a member of J.D. Crowe's boundary-pushing New South. Rice took it even further in the David Grisman Quintet. But the road took a toll on Rice.

Barry Lopez won the National Book Award in 1986 for Arctic Dreams.

Barry Lopez, Acclaimed Author And Traveler Beyond Many Horizons, Dies At 75

5:00pm December 26, 2020

by Dave Blanchard

Lopez — who won a National Book Award in 1986 for Arctic Dreams — wrote about his travels to far places. But his writings aren't just travelogues, they remind us of how precious life on Earth is.

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Arts

Broadway Star Rebecca Luker Dies At 59

8:03am December 26, 2020

by Jeff Lunden

Broadway star Rebecca Luker has died of complications from ALS. She and her husband also had COVID-19 earlier this year.

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Hank Adams, right, died Dec. 21 at the age of 77. Adams fought for Native American treaty rights throughout his life.

Hank Adams, The 'Most Important Indian,' Dies At 77

3:30am December 25, 2020

by Jaclyn Diaz

Hank Adams, a lifelong Native American civil rights advocate, died Dec. 21 at the age of 77. Adams is most well-known for his work in getting the federal government to uphold tribal treaty rights.

Jazz Night In America's 2020 In Memoriam program includes Jimmy Heath, Lee Konitz, CÃ ndido Camero, Tony Allen, Annie Ross, Freddy Cole, Gary Peacock, Henry Grimes, Wallace Roney and McCoy Tyner.

Music & Culture

In Memoriam: Jazz Night Radio Remembers 10 Musicians Who Altered The Shape Of Jazz

1:35pm December 17, 2020

We remember luminaries we lost this year in our In Memoriam program: Jimmy Heath; Lee Konitz; Càndido; Tony Allen; Annie Ross; Freddy Cole; Gary Peacock; Henry Grimes; Wallace Roney; and McCoy Tyner.

Grammy-winning trumpetist Keyon Harrold performs "Ethereal Souls" at Fontaine Capel in Socrates Sculpture Garden of Queens, N.Y..

Music & Culture

Ethereal Souls: Jazz Night In America Remembers Those We Lost In 2020

8:40am December 17, 2020

by Nikki Birch

Grammy-winning trumpeter Keyon Harrold performs "Ethereal Souls" for Jazz Night In America's tribute to the jazz musicians we lost in 2020.

Charley Pride left behind a complex legacy and rich body of work that deserves closer listening.

Music & Culture

There's Only One Charley Pride

11:57am December 16, 2020

by Jewly Hight

Charley Pride was a symbol, ancestor and influence. But the country singer was also a master interpreter of song, his warm baritone attuned to deep emotion.

Ann Reinking, pictured holding her Tony Award for best choreography for the musical Chicago in 1997, died on Saturday, her family said in a statement.

Arts

Actress, Dancer, Choreographer Ann Reinking Dies At 71

9:56am December 15, 2020

A mainstay in Broadway musicals, her standout turn as Roxie Hart in Chicago in 1977 earned her widespread praise. She reprised the role in 1996 and won a Tony.

John le Carré, master of the spy thriller, died this past weekend at the age of 89.

Books
Arts

'He Makes Us Love George Smiley:' Robert Harris On The Legacy Of John Le Carré

7:29pm December 14, 2020

by Mary Louise Kelly

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with British writer Robert Harris about the legacy of John le Carré, whom he's called "one of the great post-war British novelists" and who died Saturday at age 89.

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Ella Augusta Johnson Dinkins, posing in a garden, one of her favorite places.

National

Ella Augusta Johnson Dinkins, Champion Of Zora Neale Hurston's Hometown, Dies At 102

10:03am December 14, 2020

by Renata Sago

Dinkins, who knew the writer, was a longtime resident of Eatonville, Fla., which was founded by freed slaves in 1887. She helped start the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities.