LOS ANGELES(AP)
LeRoi Moore, the versatile saxophonist whose signature staccato
fused jazz and funk overtones onto the eclectic sound of the Dave
Matthews Band, died Tuesday of complications from injuries he
suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident, the band said. He was
46.
Moore died at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, where he
was admitted with complications that arose weeks after the June 30
wreck, according to a statement on the band's Web site. It did
not specify what led to his death, and nursing supervisor Galina
Shinder said the hospital could not release details.
On June 30, Moore crashed his ATV on his farm outside
Charlottesville, Va., but was discharged and returned to his Los
Angeles home to begin physical therapy. Complications forced him
back to the hospital on July 17, the band said.
The band went on with its show Tuesday night at the Staples
Center in Los Angeles, where lead singer Dave Matthews acknowledged
Moore's death to the crowd after the first song.
"It's always easier to leave than be left,"
Matthews told the crowd, according to Ambrosia Healy, the
band's publicist. "We appreciate you all being
here."
Saxophonist Jeff Coffin, who played with Bela Fleck and the
Flecktones, had been sitting in for Moore during the band's
summer tour.
Moore, who wore dark sunglasses at the bands' many live
concerts, had classical training but said jazz was his main musical
influence, according to a biography on the band's Web site.
"But at this stage I don't really consider myself a
jazz musician," Moore said in the biography. Playing with the
Dave Matthews Band was "almost better than a jazz gig,"
he said. "I have plenty of space to improvise, to try new
ideas."
Lead singer Dave Matthews credited Moore with arranging many of
his songs, which combine Cajun fiddle-playing, African-influenced
rhythms and Matthews' playful but haunting voice.
The band formed in 1991 in Charlottesville, Va., when Matthews
was working as a bartender. He gave a demo tape of his songs to
Moore, who liked what he heard and recruited his friend and fellow
jazzman Carter Beauford to play drums, and other musicians.
The group broke out of the local music scene with the album
"Under the Table and Dreaming." The band won a Grammy
Award in 1997 for its hit song "So Much to Say" off its
second album "Crash." Other hits include "What Would
You Say," "Crash Into Me" and
"Satellite."
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On the Net:
Band site:
http://www.dmband.com
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