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BORN
1960
DIED
2024
Jim Beard Obituary
Jim Beard was a musician and keyboardist who had performed with Donald Fagen's Steely Dan since 2008, and he also recorded with such artists as Wayne Shorter (1933–2023), Dizzy Gillespie (1917–1993), Pat Metheny, and Steve Vai.
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(Photo: Sipa via AP Images)
5 Entries
Peter Beacock
April 10, 2024
Man oh man!
Rest well Jim. You were a really great player and just the tonic the band needed when you joined them. A great career playing with the giants! Well done.
Mark Miller
March 11, 2024
Jim and I were besties in middle school. Loved being his page turner during his earliest piano recitals.
Meg Grant
March 11, 2024
Jim Beard was my piano teacher when I was in middle school. He was very kind. I never had the money to pay, but he never made a big deal of it. What a talent he was.
Kate Bell
March 8, 2024
That a musician of the stature of Jim Beard was one of the fine band continuing their grand work, is yet more confirmation of The Dan's sublime immortality. Condolences to all who loved him.
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Scott Fentress
March 7, 2024
My deepest sympathies for all Jim´s fans, friends, and family, especially his children. I met Jim our freshman year at IU - I heard him playing in a student lounge, and I knew right then that this guy was a GREAT pianist. I saw him again in the music school, and eventually asked him for a lesson. We became friends right then, and soon, we´d be hanging out late night, listening to jazz and talking about music.
Jim was really smart, thoughtful, witty, loved his cat!. But he was introverted, and once when I asked him what he was thinking about, he said "music". It was special watching him with the top musicians at IU rehearsing, jamming, really. Jim, Bob Hurst (Tonight Show bassist), Jack Wilkins (sax), Shawn Pelton (drums), Chris Botti (trumpet) - it was a superstar school band, and I got to listen front row. Dave Baker would pop his head in and go, "yeah, I can dig it." I got to record Jim a few times at the "MAC", and I would help him at Kix gigs, his Top 40 band that played the area clubs (The Bluebird, ... We would often hang at Bear´s Place for a beer & a pizza after a long practice. I hope IU does a tribute to Jim.
After college, we stayed in touch, but Jim was always touring. I´d visit him in NY, or when I was in CA, when he was in town with saxophonist Bill Evans, or John McLaughlin´s band, Wayne Shorter, or Pat Metheny, Jim would always have a couple of tickets and a backstage pass. He was the most generous guy. The last time I saw him was with Steely Dan. I feel blessed to have known Jim, and to have been his friend. He was a deep cat, a musical genius, always pushing the boundaries in his own unique voice. He was a passionate, loving soul. He had met the "love of his life" a few years back, and after a brief time - much too brief - she had passed, and while he was soldiering on, I could tell he was deeply wounded, and would never be the same. I take solace that they are together now (or will be, soon).
To those who knew him, you know; to everyone else, LISTEN. His music is not for everyone, but certainly is if you are a musician. He had a voice that cannot be duplicated, a choice of notes and harmony that take you to places anew, reaching into feelings you never knew existed. A "Show of Hands" has some of the most lyrical, sensitive, transcendent and beautiful solo piano playing ever. I´m thankful of his musical legacy. But mostly, I´m thankful for his friendship, his love, and his life. I´ll be seeing you, Jim.
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