Danish saxophonist, pioneer of free jazz
By ASSOCIATED PRESS October 8, 2012 7:24PM
FILE - This July. 7, 2006 file photo shows Jazz saxophonist John Tchicai in Copenhagen, Denmark. Danish saxophonist and pioneer of free jazz in Europe, John Tchicai died Monday Oct. 8, 2012. He was 76. Tchicai moved to New York in 1963 and co-founded The New York Contemporary Five with Archie Shepp. He later became a leading figure of the jazz avant-garde movement in Europe. He also played with John Coltrane, Milford Graves, Carla Bley and Steve Swallow. Tchicai was born to a Danish mother and a Congolese father in Denmark. He returned to Europe in 2001 and eventually settled in southern France. (AP Photo/Polfoto/Morten Langkilde, file) DENMARK OUT
Article Extras
Updated: November 10, 2012 6:23AM
COPENHAGEN — John Tchicai, a Danish saxophonist and pioneer of free jazz in Europe, has died. He was 76.
Mr. Tchicai moved to New York in 1963 and co-founded The New York Contemporary Five with Archie Shepp. He later became a leading figure of the jazz avant-garde movement in Europe. He also played with John Coltrane, Milford Graves, Carla Bley and Steve Swallow.
Mr. Tchicai was born to a Danish mother and a Congolese father in Denmark. He returned to Europe in 2001 and eventually settled in southern France.
His former wife, Margriet Naber, said Monday that he had died in the hospital that day. No cause of death was given but Tchicai has been in a coma since suffering a brain hemorrhage in June.
AP
