RIP Claire Daly (1958-2024)

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Baritone saxophonist Claire Daly lost her fight with cancer yesterday afternoon. I only got to see Claire perform live once but it sticks with me because she really knew her way around that sax.

https://downbeat.com/news/detail/in-memoriam-claire-daly-19582024

[clifford_thornton]

was just coming here to post this as well. She was a badass and a very cool person. RIP.

[mjazzg]

Oh that's a shame.

I knew nothing about her until someone posted here (possibly Kevin Bresnahan) about her illness and a fundraising effort to support her.  I bought her latest LP in response and it came with a lovely note from Claire thanking me for the support. The music's great but that seemed almost like a trifle at the time. I'll play it in her memory.

 

[ghost of miles]

Very sorry to hear this. I've played her frequently over the years on my daytime afternoon program and will definitely highlight her passing.

[Ken Dryden]

I was unaware Claire had been battling cancer. A couple of times I met her for lunch while visiting NYC, she recommended great restaurants that I would have never found on my own. She was an important baritone saxophonist and she will be missed. She must have been ill when she was working on Vuvu For Frances.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

10 minutes ago, Ken Dryden said:

I was unaware Claire had been battling cancer. A couple of times I met her for lunch while visiting NYC, she recommended great restaurants that I would have never found on my own. She was an important baritone saxophonist and she will be missed. She must have been ill when she was working on Vuvu For Frances.

As I understand it, she felt fine making "Vu Vu For Francis" and didn't feel something was off until after she played it live at Dizzy's with George Garzone in July of last year. This cancer diagnosis came out of the blue.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/arts/music/claire-daly-dead.html

Claire's obit in the NYT.

[Milestones]

I was not too aware of her, but I've heard a few things--primarily on BandCamp.  It is certainly stuff worth hearing.

And it certainly seems that she was under-recorded.

R.I.P., Claire.

 

[Ken Dryden]

I still have the last series of texts that I exchanged with Claire Daly. Somehow I can’t delete them, even though the last message was a year ago.

i couldn’t access the NYT obit, did the writer contact Joel Forrester? If not, he may have been harder to reach if he is still living and working in France.