Jazz legend Jack DeJohnette, Miles Davis collaborator and rhythmic visionary, dies at 83

Jack DeJohnette, the genre-bending jazz drummer whose beats helped shape Miles Davis’ groundbreaking sound and whose rhythmic genius elevated generations of musicians from Keith Jarrett to Herbie Hancock, has died at 83.

The two-time Grammy winner passed away Sunday in Kingston, New York, from congestive heart failure, surrounded by his wife, family, and close friends, his assistant Joan Clancy told the Associated Press.

Born in Chicago in 1942, DeJohnette started life behind a piano before destiny handed him a pair of drumsticks. He began classical piano lessons at age four, but by 14, he was driving his high school band’s rhythm section — and soon, the entire jazz world.

From Miles Davis to John Coltrane, from Thelonious Monk to Betty Carter, DeJohnette played with what the National Endowment for the Arts once called “virtually every major jazz figure from the 1960s on.” The NEA named him a Jazz Master in 2012 — a fitting honor for a musician who never stopped innovating.

“I think my greatest gift is the ability to listen,” DeJohnette once said. “Not just with my ears, but with my heart.”

His “listening” became the pulse of modern jazz. In 1968, when DeJohnette joined Miles Davis’ ever-evolving band, the studio was a laboratory of sound. “Miles was in a creative mood,” DeJohnette recalled. “We’d go in every day and experiment with grooves. You’d just turn on the tape and let it roll.”

But DeJohnette was never content to stay in one groove. He recorded dozens of albums as a bandleader, often on ECM Records, and spent more than 25 years as one-third of the famed Standards Trio with Keith Jarrett and Gary Peacock. Rolling Stone once ranked him among the top 100 drummers of all time, citing his “innate knack for turning a memorable tune.”

DeJohnette’s artistry crossed genres and generations — from avant-garde explorations to meditative new-age works. His 2009 album Peace Time won a Grammy for Best New Age Album, while 2022’s Skyline earned him another for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Reflecting on his career, DeJohnette once said, “I never doubted I’d be successful at this — something just felt like it was carrying me. All I had to do was acknowledge the gift and put it to use.”

He did more than that — he turned rhythm into poetry.

DeJohnette is survived by his wife, Lydia, and their two daughters, Farah and Minya.

Inputs from Associated Press