RIP Charles Fambrough

After a long battle with liver disease, jazz bassist Charles Fambrough has passed away. The Philadelphia-based player had a storied career, playing with Grover Washington, Jr., Airto Moreira, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, and more. He also spent two years in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.

“McCoy showed me how to play with endurance. Art gave me refinement,” the bassist once said.

Fambrough also had a healthy solo career, with seven albums put out as a bandleader.

Fambrough was a mainstay of the Philly scene, and was admired by many other players. Several benefit concerts had been held in the last few years to try to offset Fambrough’s huge medical expenses, including a show last month that featured Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, and Gerald Veasley.

Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Charles Fambrough.