Coleman Mellett (May 27, 1974 – February 12, 2009) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
guitarist in
Chuck Mangione
Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer.
He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother ...
's band. He had been scheduled to play with Mangione and the
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on February 13, 2009, but was killed the night before in the crash of
Colgan Air Flight 3407
Colgan Air Flight 3407 (marketed as Continental Connection Flight 3407 under a codeshare agreement with Continental Airlines), was a scheduled passenger flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York, which crashed on February 12, 2009. Th ...
with band member
Gerry Niewood
Gerry Niewood (April 6, 1943 – February 12, 2009), born Gerard Joseph Nevidosky, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist who worked often with Chuck Mangione. Like Mangione, Niewood was born in Rochester, New York, and graduated from the ...
.
Mellett lived in
East Brunswick Township, New Jersey
East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...
, with his wife, jazz singer
Jeanie Bryson
Jeanie Bryson (born March 10, 1958) is an American singer who sings a combination of jazz, pop, and Latin music. Her repertoire is based on jazz and pop standards from the Great American Songbook and Peggy Lee and Dinah Washington.
Life and ...
, daughter of
Dizzy Gillespie.
Mellett joined Mangione's band in 1999.
A documentary about the artist won Best Documentary Film at the
2019 New Jersey International Film Festival.
References
External links
Coleman Mellett at AllmusicSing You a Brand New Song: The Words and Music of Coleman Mellett- Documentary Film
1974 births
2009 deaths
Accidental deaths in New York (state)
American jazz guitarists
People from East Brunswick, New Jersey
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from New Jersey
American male guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
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