David Samuels

1948 - 2019

Grammy-winning percussionist and internationally-known jazz music educator David Samuels passed away peacefully in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Monday, April 22, after a seven-year battle with early-onset Alzheimer's. He was 70 years old. Samuels had halted his performances in 2013 following his diagnosis. He has provided that his brain be donated to Yale University for its Alzheimer's research. David Samuels was born in Waukegan, Illinois on October 9, 1948 and raised in Winnetka, Illinois, the youngest of three boys raised by attorney Arthur and designer Ethel Samuels. Music was his passion from early on, particularly percussion. At New Trier High School, he studied with Jake Jerger and performed with its jazz ensemble before graduating in 1966. After attending high school, he attended a Ludwig Symposium in 1967 where he was first exposed to mallet keyboard. He was mostly self-taught on his signature vibraphone. He went on to earn a degree in psychology from Roosevelt College (which also has a fine music school) before entering Boston's Berklee School of Music. David rose to become one of the school's top jazz educators. He also taught at the New England Conservatory, NYU, and the Manhattan School of Music, as well as heading master classes and music clinics around the world. David returned to Chicago often to perform at Ravinia Festival, the Green Mill, and scores of local jazz clubs. He was also a representative for two music companies, Yamaha and Ludwig. As a much-sought-after performer, Samuels played and recorded with, among many others, Spyro Gyra (1979-1993), Double Image (which he co-founded with fellow vibist David Friedman in 1974), Frank Zappa, accompanied George Shearing and Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall, and with and his own Grammy-winning ensemble, Caribbean Jazz Project (CJP). CJP made eight recordings over the years, including the 2003 Grammy-award-winning Best Latin Jazz recording ("The Gathering") and, in 2008, won his second Grammy for Latin Jazz Album of the year. He and Friedman were inducted into the percussionists' (PAS) Hall of Fame in 2015, cited as an inspiration for generations of mallet players. As one of the giants in jazz percussion, David Samuels was an innovator, mentor and master craftsman, always ready to help beginners learn the basics, consistently leading his fellow performers in improvisation and composition. On two different occasions he came back to New Trier and volunteered to work with all the high school jazz bands As Janet Ross, his companion for the last five years said, "He taught his students to be musicians, not just players." David Samuels is survived by his daughter, Sarah, also a musician, two older brothers, Stephen (Sharon) and Jeffrey Samuels, and his companion of many years, Janet Ross. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, May 4 at 1:00PM at the Community Church of New York Unitarian Universalist (40 E. 35th St., New York, NY 10016. All are welcome to attend.