Jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette dies at 83 in Woodstock, NY

Jack DeJohnette, the influential jazz drummer whose work helped reshape the sound of modern jazz, died Sunday at his home in Woodstock, New York. He was 83. His longtime label, ECM Records, confirmed his death, and his personal assistant said he died of congestive heart failure. His management said he was surrounded by his wife, family and close friends.

Born in Chicago in 1942, DeJohnette began studying piano as a child and took up drums in his teens, carrying both instruments through a career that bridged traditional and experimental jazz. He moved to New York in the mid 1960s and quickly became a sought after sideman, playing with Charles Lloyd, Bill Evans, Jackie McLean and others. A late-1960s stint with Charles Lloyd paired him with pianist Keith Jarrett and helped raise his national profile.

DeJohnette succeeded Tony Williams in Miles Davis’s group as the trumpeter moved into electric instrumentation. He was a key presence on landmark recordings from that period, including Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, On the Corner and LiveEvil, helping to shape the grooves and textures that came to be identified with jazz fusion. "I think playing with Miles, with Dave Holland, Chick Corea...