RIP Johnny Fourie

My god, it's starting to feel like my blog only gets updated when people pass away.

However, given all the attention around the passing of Joe Zawinul, I wanted to commemorate the passing of another stunning jazz musician.

This was Johnny Fourie, the guitarist. From South Africa, spent a great deal of time performing in England, and also in the US, before returning to South Africa. He passed away about two weeks ago (I should have blogged this earlier, I know)

He did a lot of fusion work, and you can hear it on Charles Earland's "Intensity" album (a great listen), and also Wessel van Rensburg's "So Fine" (also wonderful, if quite smooth).

As a leader, I've heard two albums of his. One is a solo guitar album that came out about a year ago. I can't find a buy link for it (I did a quick search), but it is worth tracking down with a bit of effort.

The easier album to find is "Solo, Duet & Trio". In fact, here's the link! http://www.oneworld.co.za/ProductSpecific.asp?uref=&ProductCode=SLCD026&OrderID=&AffiliateID=

It's a stunning piece of work - brilliantly reimagined standards, and as an added bonus, features the ever amazing Carlo Mombelli on bass.