Ed Thigpen Passed Away

Pat Petrillo

Silver Member
I had the pleasure of knowing him, and he was such a sweet person, kind and humble.

Not to mention a great drummer.

Rest in Peace, Ed. It was an honor to have known you.
 
Mr. Taste - The Brushmaster.....

We will deeply miss him - what a gentle giant person he was!!!!

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Three generations: Ed Thigpen - Ronald Bruner jr. - Chester Thompson

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PASIC 2007

Bernhard
 
Ed Thigpen lives on. He's played and recorded with Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Oscar Peterson, all of whom are legends, and he's been in the company of Billy Taylor, Johnny Hodges and many others. He has made a contribution that most people will never come close to. He's in the Percussive Arts Hall of Fame.

What a life! That's something to celebrate. Mourning his death is futility. He'll be missed by his close friends, but he'll live on in musician's heaven.
 
RIP Ed!

He was one of the greatest Jazz drummers in history and an extraordinarily nice person. I met him once about two years ago after a fantastic concert and had him sign my ride cymbal. Although he was old then, he still had the spark of inner youth. He played some jazztime on my cymbal (I had to hold it on my index finger) and was really humbled by the fact that I had him sign it. In these two minutes of meeting him, it was obvious that he was a special person with a big heart.

I'm sure he'll be remembered for a very long time.
 
Very talented drummer...He made a very good instructional brush technique book/tape many years ago.I learned great deal from it. His contribution to drumming will live for ever! Denis
 
Truly a shame. I'll put on my copy of Night Train on the drive to my gig tonight.
 
I opened Drummerworld and was met with the picture of Ed Thigpen informing us of his passing. I must say I felt like I got punched in the gut...
Mr. Thigpen was my introduction to jazz ( I own almost all of his recordings) as well as brush playing. He was, and will always be, one of my favorite drummers and biggest influences.

Rest in Peace...
 
I just subscribed in this forum to say that ED THIGPEN is one of my greatest inspirations because of his musicality, his positive drive in everyhing he did ... a complete musician and always a pleasure to listen to. There is no better surname for him than "Mr Taste" :)
I met him a few times in Belgium and I had the honor that he played a whole concert on my drums.
I'll miss you Mr Taste, but you stay with us in your music and your great lessons in swing, sound, handdrumming, colors, brushes... and positive attitude...
thx
 
aww man, i couldn't believe it when i saw this thread. I never got that much listening in on his stick play, but he was THE master of brush work
 
I am ashamed to admit that I am not real familiar with Mr. Thigpen's work, but my condolences go out to his family. I will check YouTube to see what I have been missing.
 
Oh no!

Oh man, this is terrible news. Ed has long been one of my all time favorites. He always played with such empathy for the other musicians while at the same time making his own unique statement.

I was sad to read Oscar Peterson talking about his favorite trio in his autobiography and it did not include Ed. In fact no drummer. But I feel Ed contributed to his best work.

I am going to watch Ed's DVD now with a tear in my eye. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, and I envy those who did.
 
RIP Mr. Thigpen. You will be greatly missed. A true master of the brushes.. Thank you for all your contributions.

Tom
 
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