A very complex and multifaceted man, he did what he wanted to do and
never looked back.
His style was exciting and expressed emotions from joy to the blues
in a fashion his face never revealed. He will be sorely missed.
Below is what the Associated Press published nationwide about Beck on
the occasion of his death:
Joe Beck, a jazz guitarist who collaborated with artists such as
Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and James Brown, has died at a local
hospice after battling lung cancer. He was 62.
Beck, of Woodbury, died July 22, according to the Munson-Lovetere
funeral home.
Beck was a prolific studio and session performer, arranger and
producer, with an identifiable harmonic and rhythmic sound. He was
honored five times by the National Academy of Recording Arts and
Sciences as a "Most Valuable Player."
Beck got his start as a teen in the 1960s playing in a jazz trio
in New York. By 1968, he was working with Miles Davis and other jazz
stars.
"My career happened because I happened to be in the right place
at the right time in a very unique time of jazz music," Beck said in
an interview last year with JazzGuitarLife.com.
After taking a three-year break from music to run a dairy farm,
Beck went back to music in the 1970s, working with artists such as
Gloria Gaynor and Esther Phillips, including on her hit single,
"What a Difference a Day Makes."
In 1975, his collaboration with saxophonist David Sanborn, "Beck
and Sanborn," became a cool fusion hit.
He also composed and arranged for film and television, and played
with the Royal Philharmonic orchestra in London, the Milan
Philharmonic in Italy and the Paris String Ensemble in France.
He last toured in December 2007, playing in Europe with fellow
jazz guitarist John Abercrombie. Beck also taught guitar at
Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury.
He is survived by his wife, Marsi, and five children.
Joe
Beck could make a guitar sing like nobody we've heard. A very humble
man, he very kindly agreed to play Szechuan Tokyo on many occasions
(once in a driving snowstorm). He always gave us a smashing performance,
and his demeanor was kind, graceful and witty.
