Long-time Jazz Journal columnist and author Bob Weir has died, age 82.
Bob, who for many decades contributed the monthly Jazz Information column to Jazz Journal, was an expert discographer and the author of eight books on jazz. He also regularly wrote record reviews, and reviews from festivals in the UK and many countries in Europe.
In his professional career, Bob was a senior officer in local government, working for authorities in Birmingham, Leicester, Lincolnshire and Cardiff.
But jazz was always a deep passion, and he wrote acclaimed discographies of many artists including Clifford Brown, Helen Merrill, and Buck Clayton.
Bob died at his home in Cardiff, where he had lived since retiring. He is survived by his wife Christeen and their family.
I worked alongside Bob at many festivals in the UK and abroad, and Bob quickly became a great personal friend, as well as a writer whose opinions were always worth hearing and whose expertise on jazz history commanded great respect.
He was also great fun to be with, always ready to share a joke and a special jazz anecdote. His outlook on music was broad – from the earliest days of jazz to adventurous sounds of the present day. I will miss him enormously, as will his countless friends.
