David Loving Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Was the T lavitz thread deleted? I'm assuming it was a hoax and the report of his death was exaggerated, but what happened? "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I hope that thread was in error... Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 No, sadly it wasn't a hoax. I was asked the thread be hidden at least until last night due to a family circumstance. Jerry's thread was a nice memorial and should unhidden if possible. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Unfortunately, it was not hidden - it was deleted. We don't have a hide option, and we were asked to remove it as quickly as possible. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Affiliations: Cloud Microphones • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Damn....what happened to T? Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 T passed away in his sleep a few days ago. The cause of death was unknown. T's mother was out of the country on a trip and T's brother made a decision not to ruin their mother's vacation and decided to tell her when she returned on Sunday. The family didn't want the news to spread anymore than possible before they could tell their mother. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuggy Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 RIP T. I met his music very late, (1-2 years ago), and a very talented player he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Very sad. I was a huge Dregs fan growing up and really appreciated T's playing. I know he did a lot of good stuff outside the tyranny of Morse but I am not really familiar with it. Too young! Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Very sad news. I knew what this thread would say when it just had his name as the title, because that is always the way it is on the net. I love his playing and this is terrible. Caught the Dregs and SMB five years ago in Tempe, drove out there especially for the show as I had gigs and couldn't make the local ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 RIP T.Lavitz. The world will miss you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Official, direct from his own website. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 A couple of my favorites from the Dixie Dregs days. [video:youtube]Z00EnPmQ6Gs [video:youtube]5cK38NERcWI "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Rip T. You inspired me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malpaugh Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Sad and shocking news. I only knew his Storytime and Players albums but for a while he seemed to be regularly in the pages of Keyboard magazine. He could always walk that line between sophistication and earthy groove. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrythek Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I was just mourning a friend and never realized that the family had not even completely dealt with the news. I felt horrible finding out that I was intruding on their privacy... I met T at the U of M when I was playing piano in the 3rd level big band and he was in the sax section. He asked me what our piano teacher was like, and we bonded over our fledgling status on the lower rungs of the jazz department. I left after that year and later heard how T had blossomed into one of the stars of the school, and then later joined the Dregs, who had started as a "for credit" school ensemble... T grew into one of the star players of the fusion/jazz-rock/whatever movement, blending his absorption of Jan Hammer synth soloing with a funky and country-fied vocabulary that drew from Chuck Leavell, McCoy Tyner, and many others. While he never achieved that enduring star status, he influenced and inspired countless players, and he will surely be missed. I hope Keyboard Magazine considers doing a tribute to him. RIP T. Jerry Kovarsky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 wow, shocking and very sad. His playing with the Dregs always made me smile... His solos sometimes made me simply belt out a "Hell Yeah!". my thoughts & prayers to his family. Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I was at UM quite a few years later (late '80s), and T was one of the legends of the school by then, up there with Metheney and Hornsby. It was a comfort to think that even guys like him were once where I was, getting chewed out by the same teacher. (Jerry, did you study under Vince? There's a certain bond among those of us who got our balls busted by him.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 [video:youtube] Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moj Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 RIP T. I have his instructional video on modal playing that's very good. Great player and teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 As I said on the thread that was deleted, he was way too young to go. Life is just so unfair sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgregg Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 One of my favorite players, and a huge influence on me musically. What a shame. Rest in peace, T. Steinway L, 1958 Hammond B3, Kurzweil Forte, Prophet-6, Minimoog Voyager, Kawai VPC-1,Oberheim SEM-Pro, Doepfer Dark Energy, Nord Rack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP3 Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I was just mourning a friend and never realized that the family had not even completely dealt with the news. I felt horrible finding out that I was intruding on their privacy... I met T at the U of M when I was playing piano in the 3rd level big band and he was in the sax section. He asked me what our piano teacher was like, and we bonded over our fledgling status on the lower rungs of the jazz department. I left after that year and later heard how T had blossomed into one of the stars of the school, and then later joined the Dregs, who had started as a "for credit" school ensemble... T grew into one of the star players of the fusion/jazz-rock/whatever movement, blending his absorption of Jan Hammer synth soloing with a funky and country-fied vocabulary that drew from Chuck Leavell, McCoy Tyner, and many others. While he never achieved that enduring star status, he influenced and inspired countless players, and he will surely be missed. I hope Keyboard Magazine considers doing a tribute to him. RIP T. Jerry Kovarsky Jerry, can you re-post all of the YT vids you had up before? It's time to celebrate the man's music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I've been a fan for years, since reading about him so much in Keyboard. Later I became a huge Steve Morse fan and that's how I started actually listening to T. I have several cuts from The Dregs' Bring Em Back Alive I listen to in the gym, and his playing on that stuff just blows me away every time. The bass piano on Assembly Line, and the piano solo on that song, the cool staccato synth notes on Road Expense, and fill in chords, the riffing and soloing of Cruise Control, I had it on last night while lifting weights Brilliant! . His work on Mountain Waltz from the Introduction is my favorite, and the only T licks I tried to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrythek Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 (Jerry, did you study under Vince? There's a certain bond among those of us who got our balls busted by him.) Sure did, for my first year... I was actually 16, turning 17 at the time (got in a year early) and while I learned from him, it was an intense experience. Second year I switched to Ronny Miller, and he opened me up in a much more nurturing way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Aiken Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 My T story: Once rented him an A100 chop and 122 in the early '90's for a brief Dregs reunion tour. He came over my house and played the rig - was definitely showing off a little bit - in a good way. Played the Dregs arrangement of Kashmir that they were doing on that tour. Very affable, kind of absent minded guy - and obviously extremely talented - very sorry to hear of his passing. Moog The One, VV 64 EP, Wurlies 200A 140 7300, Forte 7, Mojo 61, OB-6, Prophet 6, Polaris, Hammond A100, Farfisa VIP, ,Young Chang 6', Voyager, E7 Clav, Midiboard, Linnstrument, Seaboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 This comes as very shocking and sad news. I had been talking to T in the past few weeks about doing some lessons and how-to's in the pages of Keyboard, and he was stoked to do it. Like many of us here, I grew up trying to cop his solos from Dregs albums, and sponged up his columns in Keyboard religiously. RIP, T. The Keyboard community will always miss you. Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartRun Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 ...too bad. Hell of a player; I only saw him once w/Morse & Co. in the early '80's. He made the most of his opportunity playing with Morse... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 Rest in Peace T, may light perpetual shine upon you, brother. You sure can play! "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I listened to the Dregs back in the late 80s. Not too long ago, I posted a T. Lavitz thread. Now, he's gone. He was a bad mofo. D*mn. RIP Mr. Lavitz. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarkus Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 RIP, T. The Keyboard community will always miss you. Ditto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.