Dave Samuels at Aarhus Jazz Festival (Denmark 2009)
David Alan Samuels (October 9, 1948 – April 22, 2019)[1] was an American vibraphone and marimba player who spent many years with the contemporary jazz group Spyro Gyra. His recordings and live performances during that period also reflect his prowess on the steelpan, a tuned percussion instrument of Trinidadian origin.
Biography
Samuels was born in Waukegan, Illinois, United States.[1] At the age of six he started playing drums and piano. He learned vibes and marimba while a student at Boston University. He continued his studies at the Berklee College of Music, also in Boston, and studied with vibraphonist Gary Burton. He taught percussion at Berklee before moving to New York City in 1974. Soon he was recording and performing with Gerry Mulligan, Carla Bley, and Gerry Niewood. He played in a vibes/marimba duo with David Friedman, who had been his teacher at Boston, releasing albums under the name Double Image.[2][3]
Samuels wrote columns for the magazines Modern Percussionist and Modern Drummer, a method book, and made an instructional video. He taught at Berklee and at the New England Conservatory of Music.[2][4]
Samuels died on April 22, 2019, due to an undisclosed long-term illness.[1][5][6]
^ abcKernfeld, Barry (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 495. ISBN1-56159-284-6.
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