Esteemed local musician, teacher Jim Allard dies

Jim Allard, right, performs with guitarist Alan Vaudreuil last week at the ARTSWorcester gallery. (COURTESY MAURO DEPASQUALE)

By Victor D. Infante TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
On his album "The Wait," Worcester musician Jim Allard is a musical chameleon, jumping from jazz style to jazz style with seeming ease. The album's opener, "Soon," is heavy, almost brooding. Its closer, "When Evening Shadows Fall," has a lightness about it, smooth strands of music escaping the Earth, streaming toward the sky. 

Allard died unexpectedly at the age of 60 Monday, according to information posted online by Worcester Academy, one of the several places where he taught. No cause of death was given. He leaves behind his wife, Donna, and their four daughters. 

"Jim's passing is a tremendous loss for the entire Worcester Academy community," said Worcester Academy head of school Ron Cino in the statement. "At the same time, his legacy as a cherished colleague and dedicated teacher — something that you hear faculty and students saying again and again today — will impact lives for many years to come." 

In addition to Worcester Academy, Allard taught at the Joy of Music Program, Clark University and WPI. 

For Allard's friends and longtime collaborators in Worcester's music scene, his death came as a thunderclap. 

"When I heard the news … it was like the ground opened up," said Mauro DePasquale, who performed with Allard in the jazz combo Jazzed Up. "I was shocked." 

DePasquale and Allard began playing music together in their youth at North High School in the early '70s. 

"We actually formed one of the first rock 'n' roll bands for school credit at the school," DePasquale recounted of their early days, before jazz became Allard's calling. "He and (local jazz musician) Rich Falco formed a Chicago cover band." 

DePasquale credits Chicago's pivot into mainstream music as one of the catalysts for Allard's interest in jazz. 


"I first met him at a session more than 40 years ago," says local musician and music journalist Chet Williamson. "He was burning even then. Yet, I remember how unassuming and unaffected he was — no posturing, just a great player wanting to learn and play. And Jim lived to play."
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