OBITUARIES
This folder includes obituaries for jazz musicians or persons of significance to the Australian jazz community, written by several contributors. Click on the INDEX box to access a list of obituaries contained in this folder.
OBITUARY: (DR) JUDY BAILEY OAM 1935-2025
by Eric Myers
Sydney Arts Guide, August 19, 2025
Judy Bailey passed away peacefully aged 89 on Friday August 8, 2025, at Estia Health Willoughby where she had been resident since early 2021. She had already been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in August 2020, and subsequently suffered from mild cognitive impairment as a result of a failed anaesthetic during a hip replacement operation. Her two children Lisette De Gray and Chris De Gray were by her side at the end. Chris says “Both Lisette and I were privileged to have been with her and holding her right to her last breath. We are so sad right now but happy that she is free of her suffering”…
OBITUARY: (DR) JUDY BAILEY OAM 1935-2025
by John Shand
Sydney Morning Herald, August 11, 2025
As a youngster, Judy Bailey usually heard classical or pop music coming from the cream-coloured Bakelite radio on the Formica kitchen bench of her family’s home in Whangarei, New Zealand. But on this particular afternoon, her 13-year-old ears heard something new. She recognised the song, East of the Sun, yet after the melody the band seemed to be making up the music as they went. In her three years studying classical piano with the local nuns, they’d never mentioned improvising. Bailey, who died on August 8 aged 89, was instantly enthralled, and when what turned out to be the George Shearing Quintet had finished, she dashed to the piano, and worked out that the made-up music was happening over the song’s chords. A week later, the Stan Kenton Orchestra gave her an even bigger thrill, the thought of which still gave her tingles decades later. It was to set the course for the rest of her life…
OBITUARY: (DR) JUDY BAILEY OAM 1935-2025
by Henry Rasmussen
ABC Jazz, August 11, 2025
Australian jazz pioneer Judy Bailey has died peacefully at the age of 89. The New Zealand-born pianist was one of the most prominent forces on the Australian music scene, ever since she arrived in Australia in the early 1960s. A brilliant musician and composer, Bailey was also a keen educator, with a passion for building up generations of young Australian jazz musicians. Her son, Chris De Gray, said he and his sister Lisette were "privileged to have been with her and holding her right to her last breath. We are so sad right now but happy that she is free of her suffering," he said…