Jeff
Golub, a guitarist who crossed seamlessly between jazz, blues and rock, died
today, Jan. 1, following a lengthy illness. He was 59. The precise cause and
place of death have not yet been reported but Golub had experienced a series of
physical setbacks in recent years that ultimately caused him to no longer be
able to perform. First, Golub gradually lost his eyesight in June 2011 due to
the collapse of an optic nerve. The following year, he fell onto the subway
tracks in New York and was dragged by a train, but was rescued by onlookers and
escaped unscathed. He was later diagnosed with more serious, at first
unidentified, issues later determined to be a rare and incurable brain disorder
called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Fans contributed tens of thousands
of dollars toward his medical expenses via crowd-funding websites and an
auction.
Jeff
Golub, who was born in Copley, Ohio, April 15, 1955, played his first gig in
1967 at age 12 and turned professional during the following decade. He studied
at the Berklee College of Music and worked in singer James Montgomery’s band
while in Boston. In 1980, after moving to New York, Golub joined the band of
rock singer Billy Squier, with whom he toured and recorded extensively. Golub
released his first solo recording, Unspoken Words, for Gaia Records in 1988.
Golub
released more than a dozen albums in all as a leader and three with the Avenue
Blue Band, and spent several years (1988-95) in the band of singer Rod Stewart.
He also collaborated with dozens of artists as a sideman, including Ashford and
Simpson, Alphonse Mouzon, Kirk Whalum, Mindi Abair, Everette Harp, Peter Wolf,
John Waite, Vanessa Williams, Gato Barbieri, Bill Evans, Rick Braun, Tina
Turner, Dar Williams, Brian Culbertson, Gerald Albright, Henry Butler, Jon
Cleary, Marc Cohn, Richard Elliot, Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Jeff Lorber and
Peter White. Golub was also a member of Dave Koz and the Kozmos, the house band
of The Emeril Lagasse Show.
Golub’s
final album, made with keyboardist Brian Auger, was Train Kept A Rolling, its
title inspired by Golub’s subway incident.
~ By Jeff Tamarkin
No comments:
Post a Comment