https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Neville-Brothers-saxophonist-Charles-Neville-dead-12867707.php
Neville Brothers saxophonist Charles Neville dead at 79
Updated 12:22 am, Friday, April 27, 2018
Charles Neville arrives with The Neville Brothers on stage to perform during the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008.
Charles Neville arrives with The Neville Brothers on stage to perform during the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008.
Notable Deaths of 2018
Notable Deaths of 2018
Verne Troyer, 1969-2018: Verne Troyer, who played Dr. Evil’s small, silent sidekick "Mini-Me" in the "Austin Powers" movie franchise, died Saturday, April 21, 2018. He was 49.
Verne Troyer, 1969-2018: Verne Troyer, who played Dr. Evil’s small, silent sidekick "Mini-Me" in the "Austin Powers" movie franchise, died Saturday, April 21, 2018. He was 49.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 1936-2018: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela revered by many in South Africa as the "Mother of the Nation," but criticized by others over a brutal apartheid-era killing by her thuggish bodyguards, died in a Johannesburg hospital on Monday, April 2, 2018, after being admitted with a kidney infection. She was 81.
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... moreSteven Bochco, 1943-2018: Steven Bochco, the Emmy-winning television writer-producer who brought "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law" and "NYPD Blue" to the small screen, died in his sleep after a battle with cancer on Sunday, April 1, 2018. He was 74.
lessSteven Bochco, 1943-2018: Steven Bochco, the Emmy-winning television writer-producer who brought "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law" and "NYPD Blue" to the small screen, died in his sleep after a battle with
... moreRusty Staub, 1944-2018: Rusty Staub, the orange-haired outfielder who became a huge hit with baseball fans in two countries during an All-Star career that spanned 23 major league seasons, died Thursday, March 29, 2018, after an illness in a hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 73. Affectionately dubbed "Le Grand Orange," Staub was a six-time All-Star and the only player in major league history to have at least 500 hits with four teams. Popular with fans and teammates all over the United States and Canada, he was most adored in New York and Montreal.
lessRusty Staub, 1944-2018: Rusty Staub, the orange-haired outfielder who became a huge hit with baseball fans in two countries during an All-Star career that spanned 23 major league seasons, died Thursday, March
... moreLinda Brown, 1943-2018: Linda Brown, center, who as a Kansas girl was at the center of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down racial segregation in schools, died Sunday, March 25, 2018, at age 75. Her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll the family in an all-white school in Topeka, and the case was sparked when he and several black families were turned away. The NAACP’s legal arm brought the lawsuit to challenge segregation in public schools, and Oliver Brown became lead plaintiff in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court that ended school segregation.
lessLinda Brown, 1943-2018: Linda Brown, center, who as a Kansas girl was at the center of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down racial segregation in schools, died Sunday, March 25, 2018, at age
... moreLouise Slaughter, 1929-2018: Veteran U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, a Kentucky blacksmith's daughter who became the first woman to chair the powerful House Rules Committee, died Friday, March 16, 2018, at a Washington hospital where she was being treated after falling in her home. She was 88.
lessLouise Slaughter, 1929-2018: Veteran U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, a Kentucky blacksmith's daughter who became the first woman to chair the powerful House Rules Committee, died Friday, March 16,
... moreStephen Hawking, 1942-2018: Stephen Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, died Wednesday, March 14, 2018, at his home in Cambridge, England. He was 76. The best-known theoretical physicist of his time, Hawking wrote so lucidly of the mysteries of space, time and black holes that his book, "A Brief History of Time," became an international best-seller, making him one of science's biggest celebrities since Albert Einstein.
lessStephen Hawking, 1942-2018: Stephen Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, died Wednesday, March 14, 2018, at his home in Cambridge, England. He
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lessRoger Bannister, 1929-2018: Roger Bannister, who as a lanky medical student at Oxford in 1954 electrified the sports world and lifted postwar England's spirits when he became the first athlete
... moreDavid Ogden Stiers, 1942-2018: Actor David Ogden Stiers, best known for his role as the snooty Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III on the popular TV show "MASH," died Saturday, March 3, 2018 at his home in Newport, Ore., after a battle with cancer. He was 75.
lessDavid Ogden Stiers, 1942-2018: Actor David Ogden Stiers, best known for his role as the snooty Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III on the popular TV show "MASH," died Saturday, March 3, 2018 at
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lessVic Damone, 1928-2018: Vic Damone, whose mellow baritone once earned praise from Frank Sinatra as "the best pipes in the business," died Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, in Florida at the age of 89. Damone's
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John Mahoney, 1940-2018: John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in "Frasier" played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and Niles, died Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018. Mahoney was 77.
Dennis Edwards, 1943-2018: Dennis Edwards, a Grammy-winning former member of the famed Motown group the Temptations, died Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, in Chicago after a long illness. He was 74.
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Comic strip artist Mort Walker, a World War II veteran who satirized the Army and tickled millions of newspaper readers with the antics of the lazy private "Beetle Bailey," died Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 94.
lessComic strip artist Mort Walker, a World War II veteran who satirized the Army and tickled millions of newspaper readers with the antics of the lazy private "Beetle Bailey," died
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lessUrsula K. Le Guin, the award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer who explored feminist themes and was best known for her Earthsea books, died Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, at
... moreDolores O'Riordan, whose urgent, powerful voice helped make Irish rock
band The Cranberries a global success in the 1990s, died suddenly on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, at a London hotel. She was 46.
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... moreMark E Smith from post-punk band, The Fall, the fall died at the age of 60 in January. Smith formed The Fall when punk hit 1970s Manchester, and the gray industrial English city sprouted innovative bands including Joy Division and The Buzzcocks. Irascible and inimitable, Smith kept The Fall going for four decades and more than 30 albums. He was the band's only permanent member, hiring, firing and falling out with several dozen musicians along the way.
lessMark E Smith from post-punk band, The Fall, the fall died at the age of 60 in January. Smith formed The Fall when punk hit 1970s Manchester, and the gray industrial English city sprouted innovative
... moreThis 1965 photo made available by NASA shows John Young during the Gemini 3 mission. NASA says the astronaut, who walked on the moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, died on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. He was 87. (NASA via AP)
lessThis 1965 photo made available by NASA shows John Young during the Gemini 3 mission. NASA says the astronaut, who walked on the moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, died
... moreJerry Van Dyke, the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke who struggled for decades to achieve his own stardom before clicking as the dim-witted sidekick in television's "Coach," died Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 in Arkansas. He was 86.
lessJerry Van Dyke, the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke who struggled for decades to achieve his own stardom before clicking as the dim-witted sidekick in television's "Coach," died
... moreNEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans-born saxophone player Charles Neville, who once backed up B.B. King and later gained fame with the Neville Brothers band and their rollicking blend of funk, jazz and rhythm and blues, has died. He was 79.
His death came Thursday, months after he disclosed he was fighting pancreatic cancer.
Neville's career dated to the 1950s when he performed with King and other musical greats. Yet he was best known for three decades of performances with his siblings Aaron, Art and Cyril as the Grammy-winning Neville Brothers band. The band was formed in the 1970s and gained fans with high-energy performances featuring a distinctive fusion of funk, jazz and New Orleans rhythm and blues.
A publicist for Aaron Neville's management agency confirmed the death in an email. Aaron Neville, who first disclosed the news to WWL-TV in New Orleans, declined an interview but posted a lengthy tribute to his brother on Facebook.
"I know you have a spot in the heavenly band next to James Booker, James Black, Herbert Hardesty, Fats Domino, Johnny Adams all the jazz bebop players who you turned me on to," Aaron Neville wrote. "Dizzy, Charlie Parker, Miles and the list goes on."
Charles Neville, who lived in Massachusetts in recent years, had announced in January that he had pancreatic cancer.
His death came a day before the opening of his home town's signature musical and cultural event, the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
The Neville Brothers were a fixture on closing day of the festival for years. And members of the family continue to be a part of the event. Aaron is scheduled for a May 4 performance. Charles' daughter, singer Charmaine Neville, is scheduled for a May 5 performance, the same day Aaron's son Ivan performs with his band Dumpstaphunk.
Charles' Neville's life included a stint at Louisiana's state prison in the early 1960s. He told an interviewer that he was sentenced to five years for possession of two marijuana cigarettes. The prison was notoriously dangerous but Neville said on the public radio program "Music Inside Out" that the time there sharpened his musicianship.
He explained that he worked in the prison music room. "I stayed in the music room practicing all day," he said. He also had access to books on music, and, at times, exposure to other imprisoned musicians. "James Booker was there," he said, referring to a celebrated New Orleans pianist.
