Jack DeJohnette, one of the most daring and dynamic jazz drummers of the last 60 years, with a loose-limbed yet exacting beat that propelled a limitless range of adventurous music, died on Sunday at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston, N.Y. He was 83.
The cause was congestive heart failure, Lydia DeJohnette, his wife and manager, tells NPR.
DeJohnette had a singular voice at the drums: earthy and elastic, instantly recognizable. Rather than focus the articulation of tempo on his ride cymbal, he often distributed his emphasis around the drum set. He adapted this flowing approach from modern jazz innovators like Roy Haynes as well as avant-garde pioneers like Rashied Ali, devising what he called a multidirectional style.
In another sense, he moved in multiple directions throughout his career. He played with impeccable sensitivity in acoustic small groups, like a pair of illustrious piano trios led by Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. He exuded combustible intensity in other settings, including the quartet that brought saxophonist Charles Lloyd to The Fillmore in San Francisco, and the larger confab that trumpeter Miles Davis led into the frontier of psychedelic jazz-funk. Across hundreds of recordings and many more live performances — with everyone from saxophonist Sonny Rollins to guitarist Pat Metheny to harpist and keyboardist Alice Coltrane — he was an ever-surprising yet steadfast source of rhythmic ingenuity, alert to every nuance in a stream of interactions.
He was also a prolific bandleader and composer with dozens of albums to his name. One of his earliest groups was the influential trio Gateway, which he co-led with guitarist John Abercrombie and bassist Dave Holland. His band Directions, also featuring Abercrombie, leaned more pointedly into aspects of fusion. His most acclaimed ensemble was Special Edition, a rugged but chamberlike unit that featured free-thinking collaborators like tenor saxophonist David Murray and baritone saxophonist and tubaist Howard Johnson.
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