1998 in jazz

Events

January

• 29 – The very first Polarjazz started in Longyearbyen, Svalbard (February 29 – 31).

April

• 3 – The 25th Vossajazz started in Vossavangen, Norway (April 3 – 5).

May

• 20 – The 26th Nattjazz started in Bergen, Norway (May 20 – 31).

June

• 2 – The 27th Moers Festival started in Moers, Germany (June 2 – 5).

July

• 1 – The 19th Montreal International Jazz Festival started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (July 1 – 12).
• 2 – The 8th Jazz Fest Wien started in Wien, Austria (July 2 – 10).
• 3 – The 32nd Montreux Jazz Festival started in Montreux, Switzerland (July 3 – 18).
• 10
  • The 23rd North Sea Jazz Festival started in The Hague, Netherlands (July 10 – 12).
  • The 33rd Pori Jazz started in Pori, Finland (July 10 – 19).

August

• 7 – The 15th Brecon Jazz Festival started in Brecon, Wales (August 7 – 9).

September

• 18 – The 41st Monterey Jazz Festival started in Monterey, California (September 18 – 20).

Album releases

• Dave Douglas: Convergence
• Paul Plimley: Sensology
• Vandermark 5: Target Dr Flag
• Zeena Parkins: Pan-Acousticon
• Evan Parker: Drawn Inward
• Dave Holland: Points of View
• Roy Campbell: Ancestral Homeland
• Hugh Masekela: Black to the Future

Deaths

; January

• 1 – Dave Schildkraut, American alto saxophonist (born 1925).
• 8 – Jimmy Butts, American upright bassist (born 1917).
• 16 – Tommy Pederson, American trombonist and composer (born 1920).
• 22 – Anselmo Sacasas, Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger (born 1912).
• 24 – Walter Bishop Jr., American pianist (born 1927).
• 25 – Attila Zoller, American guitarist (born 1927).
• 26 – Orlando DiGirolamo, American accordionist, pianist, and composer (born 1924).

; February

• 5 – Nick Webb, English guitarist and composer, Acoustic Alchemy (born 1954).
• 13 – Thomas Chapin, American composer, saxophonist, and multi-instrumentalist (born 1957).

; March

• 2 – Marzette Watts, American tenor and soprano saxophonist (born 1938).
• 12 – Red Richards, American pianist (born 1912).
• 15 – Tim Maia, Brazilian musician, songwriter and businessman (born 1942).
• 22 – George Howard, American saxophonist (born 1956).
• 24 – Denis Charles, American drummer (born 1933).
• 27 – Jimmy Campbell, American drummer (born 1928).

; April

• 3 – Alvin Tyler, American saxophonist and arranger (born 1925).
• 9 – Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (born 1953).
• 21 – Helen Ward, American singer (born 1913).
• 24 – Mel Powell, American pianist, composer and educator (born 1923).

; May

• 5 – Syd Lawrence, British trumpeter and bandleader (born 1923).
• 7 – Blue Lu Barker, American singer (born 1913).
• 8 – Raymond Premru, American trombonist and composer (born 1934).
• 14 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (born 1915).
• 19 – Dorothy Donegan, American pianist (born 1922).
• 22 – Milton Banana, American drummer (born 1935).
• 24 – George Kelly, American tenor saxophonist, vocalist and arranger (born 1915).
• 27 – Spencer Clark, American bass saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist (born 1908).
• 28 – Joe Dixon, American reedist (born 1917).
• 29 – Ted Dunbar, American guitarist, composer and educator (born 1937).

; June

• 8 – Harry Lookofsky, American violinist (born 1913).
• 10
  • Bobby Bryant, American trumpeter and flugelhorn player (born 1934).
  • Jimmy Henderson, American trombonist and bandleader (born 1921).
• 20 – Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (born 1916).
• 22 – Benny Green, British saxophonist (born 1927).

; July

• 2 – Errol Parker, French-Algerian pianist ( (born 1925).
• 11 – Guy Lafitte, American tenor saxophonist (born 1927).
• 14 – Beryl Bryden, English singer (born 1920).
• 25 – Tal Farlow, American guitarist (born 1921).
• 28 – Dorothy Sloop, American pianist (born 1913).

; August

• 6 – Nat Gonella, American trumpeter, bandleader and vocalist (born 1908).
• 11 – Benny Waters, American saxophonist and clarinetist (born 1902).
• 16 – Milton Adolphus, American pianist and composer (born 1913).
• 22 – Jimmy Skidmore, English tenor saxophonist (born 1916).
• 24 – Carl Barriteau, Trinidadian clarinetist (born 1914).

; September

• 6 – Bob Hames, American guitarist (born 1920).
• 15 – Barrett Deems, American drummer (born 1914).
• 16 – Andrzej Trzaskowski, Polish composer, pianist, and musicologist (born 1933).
• 26 – Betty Carter, American singer, composer, and bandleader (born 1929).

; October

• 8 – Glenn Spearman, American tenor saxophonist (born 1947).
• 31 – Sherwood Johnson, American jazz patron and the founder in 1954 of Shakey's Pizza (born 1925).

; November

• 12 – Kenny Kirkland, American pianist and keyboardist (born 1955).
• 20 – Roland Alphonso, Jamaican tenor saxophonist, The Skatalites (born 1931).
• 29 – George Van Eps, American guitarist (born 1913).

; December

• 2 – Bob Haggart, American upright bassist, composer and arranger (born 1914).
• 4 – Egil Johansen, Norwegian-Swedish drummer (born 1934).
• 26 – Dick Grove, American pianist and composer (born 1927).

; Unknown date

• David Earle Johnson, American percussionist, a composer and a music producer (born unknown date).

Births

; Unknown date

• Sasha Berliner, American vibraphonist, percussionist, composer, producer, and band leader.

References

References

1. "Polarjazz". VisitSvalbard.com.
2. (30 December 2014). "Vossajazz – Historie". [[Vossajazz]].
3. "Nattjazz". [[Nattjazz]].
4. "Moers Festival 1998". [[Moers Festival]].
5. "Festival International de Jazz de Montréal". [[Montreal International Jazz Festival]].
6. "Jazz Fest Wien Festival History". [[Jazz Fest Wien]].
7. "Montreux Jazz Festival 1998 Setlists". Setlist.fm.
8. "North Sea Jazz Festival 1998". [[North Sea Jazz Festival]].
9. "History of Pori Jazz". [[Pori Jazz]].
10. (March 2025). "Brecon Jazz Programme 1998". FriendsOfBreconJazz.com.
11. "Metheny making most of Monterey". [[CNN]].