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Drummer, Ben Riley, was one of a kind. His obituary on the WBGO radio website is entitled: Jazz Drummer Who Made Accompaniment His Art. He died at 84.

Story by Andy McDonough/Image by TOM MARCELLO

A subtle and versatile jazz drummer, best known for his affiliation with Thelonious Monk in the 1960s and Kenny Barron, one of Monk’s pianistic heirs, passed away recently in West Islip, New York at 84. His six-decade career in jazz had him featured on more than 300 recordings. Along with Monk and Barron, he backed pianists, Andrew Hill and Abdullah Ibrahim, he supported tenor saxophonists, Johnny Griffin and Stan Getz, and many other top jazz artists. His unique, complimentary style will be missed.

Photo credit: James Estrin/The New York Times

Jon Hendricks, a jazz singer and songwriter who became famous in the 1950s with the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross by putting lyrics to well-known jazz instrumentals and turning them into vocal tours de force, died recently in Manhattan. He was 96.

Although he was a gifted vocal improviser in his own right, Mr. Hendricks was best known for adding words to the improvisations of others. He took pieces recorded by jazz ensembles like the Count Basie Orchestra and the Horace Silver Quintet and, using their titles as points of departure, created intricate narratives and tongue-in-cheek philosophical treatises that matched both the melody lines and the serpentine contours of the instrumental solos, note for note and inflection for inflection.