Michael Colgrass’ wondrous life ended July 2nd, 2019 at age 87. Since starting his first band at age 11, he blazed a creative path through jazz, percussion performance, composing, NLP therapy, music education and writing of poetry, librettos, books and articles. His imagination was stirred by a world of art and nature. People of all ages joined his journey of discovery and loved his down-to-earth and playful spirit. He chalked up many achievements and honours along the way — such as a Pulitzer prize for writing “Déjà vu” for the New York Philharmonic and an Emmy for the documentary “Soundings: The Music of Michael Colgrass” — but he was the same Michael to everyone from the bank teller to famous conductors.
Friends from Canada, Europe and all over the USA came to celebrate his life on Nov. 10, 2019 in Toronto, where he lived since 1974. The outpouring of 25 people playing all kinds of music and talking about their personal experiences with Michael was true to his lively spirit. Enjoy!