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Walter Payton Archives

In Memoriam

In Memoriam: Bassists We Lost in 2010

As the year draws to its close, we stop to remember the great bassists who passed away in 2010. The bass community lost heroes from every genre, from jazz to funk to punk and everything in between. Here’s our salute to the fallen low-enders. Robert Wilson Robert Wilson, bassist for the Gap Band. Wilson’s funky playing impacted many bassists to...

RIP Walter Payton
In Memoriam

RIP Walter Payton

Famed New Orleans bassist Walter Payton Jr. passed away October 28 following a longtime illness. Payton, who is father to trumpeter Nicholas Payton, suffered a stroke early this year while on the road with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, with whom he had been working with since as early as 1965. Besides his spectacular playing, the bassist touched lives through...

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Walter Payton Suffers Stroke

Walter Payton, bassist for the famous New Orleans based Preservation Hall Jazz Band, suffered a stroke on January 8, just before a gig in Washington D.C. The jazz band was set to perform with the Blind Boys of Alabama that night, when one of the band’s road crew members found Payton in his room. He has since been recovering in...