Jack Reilly, RIP | Rifftides

https://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/2018/05/jack-reilly-rip.html
 
Jack Reilly, RIP
May 24, 2018 by Doug Ramsey Leave a Comment

Bill Charlap reports that the pianist Jack Reilly (pictured) died of a massive stroke yesterday in at his home in New Jersey. Mr. Reilly, 86, was an accomplished classical pianist who returned to his native New York in 1954 following Navy service and pursued graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music. His early experience in jazz was with John LaPorta, Sheila Jordan, Ben Webster and George Russell, among other prominent figures in the bebop and post-bop eras.
From the biography on Mr. Reilly’s website:
He was Professor and Head of the Jazz Studies Departments at the New England Conservatory of Music Boston, The New School, for Social Research, and The Mannes College of Music, where he wrote the curriculum for full Degree in Jazz Music. He is the author of the critically acclaimed The Harmony of Bill Evans, Volumes 1 and 2, The Harmony of Dave Brubeck and several books of jazz piano arrangements.
Bill Charlap was one of the many pianists who studied with Reilly and gave him credit for inspiring them and accelerating their development. The Charlap quote in the June, 2008, Rifftides post below is typical of the regard in which his students held him.
Originally posted on June 20, 2008
Recently, I came across this quote:
Jack Reilly’s music is singular, almost private, and yet it reaches beyond his personal vision. This is music that speaks to the colllective spirit of all mankind – Bill Charlap
The quote is by a student of Reilly who is one of his most dedicated fans and has himself gone on to considerable renown. It led to a search that turned up video of Reilly in a performance that melds Chopin and Strayhorn. His subtle key changes are central to the fun and fascination.
For links to Jack Reilly’s publications and albums, see this page of his website.
Funeral or memorial services for Mr. Reilly have not been announced.
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