Jack DeJohnette: Song for World Forgiveness

By Carl Medsker
October 29, 2025
View read count

On October 26, 2025, the highly musical master percussionist Jack DeJohnette died peacefully. During the journey from his birthplace, Chicago, to his adopted home, Woodstock, NY, he created an enduring, diverse and sonically scintillating legacy. From his early days with Charles Lloyd, through the electric Miles Davis period, to the legendary Standards Trio with Keith Jarrett and Gary Peacock, The Golden Quartet with Wadada Leo Smith and his own Special Edition and New Directions bands (and much more), he danced all around the beat, producing smoothly flowing, polyrhythmic, multi-timbral percussion. His origin as a pianist may account for the near-melodic nature of his playing. He elevated every performance with his intelligence and empathy.

The album Hudson (Motéma Music, 2017) with Larry Grenadier, John Medeski and John Scofield honored DeJohnette's seventy-fifth birthday and the region where they all chose to live. Here is his composition "Song For World Forgiveness," in celebration of an outstanding person and musician who will be sorely missed.

Contact Carl Medsker on All About Jazz.
Half my career in healthcare, half in IT, passionate jazz fan throughout.

Contribute to Play This! Recommend a favorite song, album, or performance and we'll share it with your fellow All About Jazz readers. Submit it here.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Rin Seo, Tino Tracanna, Webber/Morris...
< Previous

RIP Jack DeJohnette
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.