MILES DAVIS

NEW YORK — (AP) — Betty Davis, a bold and pioneering funk singer, model and songwriter of the 1960s and ‘70s who was credited with inspiring then-husband Miles Davis’ landmark fusion of jazz and more contemporary sounds, has died at age 77. Davis producer Greg Errico, former drummer for Sly and the Family Stone, would call her style “down and dirty funk." She dated Eric Clapton and Robert Palmer among other rock stars, but was best known for her time with Miles Davis. “Betty Davis” and other '70s albums were reissued and her music was heard on “Orange Is the New Black” and other TV series. “She taught me the song line by line sitting at her kitchen table,” Maggio told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2019.

The ’70s funk singer made scorching music that too few noticed

Betty Davis, a groundbreaking funk singer and former wife of jazz legend Miles Davis, died Wednesday. Amie Downs, communications director for Allegheny County where Davis lived, told the magazine that Davis’ cause of death was natural causes. After spending time in Pittsburgh, Betty Davis moved to New York City when she was 16 to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. Rest in Power Betty Davis pic.twitter.com/KNxLM59okM — Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) February 9, 2022As Betty Mabry, she released the 1964 single, “Get Ready for Betty,” Rolling Stone reported. “When I was told that it was over, I just accepted it,” Davis told The New York Times in a 2018 interview.

James Mtume dies at 76 File photo. James Mtume seen here in 2011 attending a concert in New York City. (Johnny Nunez / Getty Contributor)Grammy- winning songwriter and musician James Mtume died at 76, his son Faulu confirmed to Pitchfork. Philadelphia DJ Cosmo Baker posted, “Rest In Power to the great James Mtume. … His passing is truly a monumental loss.”Rest In Power to the great James Mtume.

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service.

A library devoted to Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s writings, scrapbooks and record collection opens next week in Tokyo for research, cultural exchange and a gathering spot for his fans.

George Wein, one of the great impresarios of 20th century music who helped found the Newport jazz and folk festivals and set the template for gatherings everywhere from Woodstock to the south of France, has died at 95.

Scott Smith, a correspondent for The Associated Press who traveled across Venezuela to document personal stories of desperation and hope in the troubled country, has died.

Former CBS Records boss Walter Yetnikoff has died at age 87.

Some nights as Levy emailed back and forth with musicians, usually while listening to music — Miles Davis, Rachmaninoff, the Dave Matthews Band — he sipped on a glass of red wine, though never on nights he was on call at the hospital. On those nights, he stuck to tea, ready to be summoned at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. for a gastroenterology emergency.

FILE - Jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea poses for a portrait in Clearwater, Fla., on Sept. 4, 2020, to promote his new double album "Plays." Corea, a towering jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy awards who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, has died. (Mike Carlson/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – Chick Corea, a towering jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy Awards who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, has died. He recorded and performed classical music, standards, solo originals, Latin jazz and tributes to great jazz pianists. In addition to his Grammy wins, Corea also had four Latin Grammy wins.

Tyson's death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – Cicely Tyson was active to the end, in the middle of promoting her memoir “Just As I Am” when she died at age 96. Many media outlets this week had been celebrating Tyson and her memoir. AdIn the days before her death, Tyson was also a guest on The Bakari Sellers Podcast, where she talked about her acting choices, injustices and her marriage to late jazz great Miles Davis. In an NPR interview, Tyson said she came to acting so that she “could speak through other people,” after being naturally drawn to observing other people as a shy child.

The world also said goodbye to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement who died in July. Other former political figures who died this year include Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, New York Mayor David Dinkins, Arizona Gov. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2020 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___David Stern, 77. The guitarist who supplied the scratching, seething sound that fueled the highly influential British punk band Gang of Four. He fused African rhythms with funk to become one of the most influential musicians in world dance music.

AP reporter Pete Yost, shown in this Oct. 2007 file photo. Yost, a retired Associated Press investigative reporter with a fierce, determined style of interviewing that contrasted with his low-key, modest personality, has died at age 73. (AP Photo/Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – Pete Yost, a retired Associated Press investigative reporter with a fierce, determined style of interviewing that contrasted with his low-key, modest personality, died Tuesday night at the age of 73. “I remember thinking when I joined the bureau that Pete was exactly the kind of character I expected to find in a Washington newsroom,” said Julie Pace, the AP's Washington bureau chief. “In 48 years as an AP journalist, I had never seen a reporter as determined as Pete Yost.

In this 2019 photo provided by Smoke Sessions Records, musician Jimmy Cobb poses for the release of his album "This I Dig of You" in New York City. (Courtesy of Smoke Sessions Records via AP)Jimmy Cobb, a percussionist and the last surviving member of Miles Davis 1959 Kind of Blue groundbreaking jazz album which transformed the genre and sparked several careers, died Sunday. But Cobbs role as a drummer on the Kind of Blue jam session headed by Davis would forever change his career. It has sold more than 4 million copies and remains the best selling jazz album of all time. Cobb released his last album, This I Dig of You, with Smoke Sessions Records in August 2019.

From the archives: Miles Davis Watch a rare and candid interview with the late Miles Davis about his experience with drugs, race relations, and a life in music.

Miles In this rare and candid interview with Miles Davis, 60 Minutes correspondent Harry Reasoner asks the jazz musician about his experience with drugs, race relations, and a life in music.