Legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach dead at 94

LOS ANGELES — Legendary American pop composer Burt Bacharach, whose prolific output provided a chart-topping playlist for the 1960s and 70s with hits like "I Say a Little Prayer," has died in Los Angeles aged 94, US media said Thursday.

Bacharach worked with stars such as Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones and also wrote hits such as "Walk On By" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose."

Bacharach, who died on Wednesday of natural causes, was known for romantic and melancholic ballads crossing the border between jazz and pop, and regularly topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

A pianist passionate about jazz, he was born on May 12, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri, and studied the art of composition in several American universities.

After his military service, he was hired by Marlene Dietrich as an arranger and musical director for her tours.

In 1957, he met lyricist Hal David, who died in 2012, with whom he would form one of the most successful partnerships in the music industry.

Four years later, they would discover during a recording session a young chorus girl who will become their standard bearer: Dionne Warwick. 

Between 1962 and 1968, they wrote 15 titles that rose into the American Top 40.

The songwriting duo was also acclaimed by Hollywood. In 1970, they won two Oscars for the music of the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and the original song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head." 

In 1973, a financial dispute broke out between the two men. For ten years, they spoke only through lawyers and never worked together again. 

Agence France-Presse

Jazz great Ellis Marsalis dies aged 85 after virus 'complications'

Jazz great Ellis Marsalis died Wednesday at the age of 85 after contracting the coronavirus, his son Branford said.

The acclaimed American pianist and teacher -- who featured on dozens of records over a musical career spanning several decades -- was the father of trumpeter Wynton and saxophonist Branford.

"It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my father, Ellis Marsalis Jr., as a result of complications from the coronavirus," Branford said in a statement published on his website, adding he was admitted to hospital on Saturday.

"My dad was a giant of a musician and teacher, but an even greater father," Branford said. "He poured everything he had into making us the best of what we could be."

Wynton posted photographs of him with his father on Twitter alongside a brief statement: "Ellis Marsalis, 1934 -- 2020. He went out the way he lived: embracing reality."

Born in New Orleans -- the epicenter of the jazz world -- in November 1934, Ellis recorded with heavyweights such as Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Marcus Roberts and Courtney Pine.

As well as mentoring his sons Wynton and Branford to becoming two of the world's most famous musicians, he was a leading figure at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the University of New Orleans, and the Xavier University of Louisiana.

Ellis was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, where Wynton is managing and artistic director, said: "With sadness and a heavy heart, Jazz at Lincoln Center says goodbye to Ellis Marsalis, one of the most renowned artists and music educators in his time—or any time.



"Ellis' profound impact on the lineage of the music is embodied by the many musicians whose lives he has informed, inspired, and educated."

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