Jeff Healey, who died on Sunday at the age of 41, was one of the world's most instantly recognizable guitarists--even to those who had never seen him play. As singular a figure as he cut on stage, with his lap-steel playing style and his Hendrixian theatrics, he was even more distinctive on record. Blues and jazz guitarists everywhere stand in awe of the purity of his tone, the ease and freedom which which he navigated the fretboard, and the powerful string-bending his perpendicular approach made possible. His technical gifts made it possible for Healey to inject vigour into the most threadbare rock covers and blues standards. Sometimes, listening to him play an old Dylan or Beatles or Clapton number, you almost wondered whether he was paying tribute or making fun.
Colby Cosh on Jeff Healey - Full Comment
Playing "See the Light" (on that Squire Strat)
Jeff Healy Live In Halifax - Part 3 - Blue Jean Blues
Playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan:
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey - Look at Little Sister
Healey long ago abandoned the life of full-time soft-rock balladry and music video that had once made him an international celebrity. This, too, was the insolent gesture of a hero. Aware that life was short, and that his might be shorter than most, he stopped mining for gold records and reinvented himself as a club owner and multi-instrumentalist. He dedicated himself to traditional jazz, the musical equivalent of taking holy orders, but never became too highbrow to plug in and kick out the jams for the occasional rock audience.
He became a leading collector of pre-war vinyl jazz sides, and was not afraid to take them out of storage and share them with radio listeners. He mentored countless younger artists, and indeed probably plenty of older ones. And although he had spent much of his life trying to get people to see him as something other than a blind guy with a guitar, he did not shirk from lending his talent and his resources as a club proprietor to the cause of the blind and vision-impaired. In short, our country has lost an exemplary artist and citizen. Whether you're a particular fan of Jeff Healey, or just a Canadian, it is hard to fathom that he is not on a stage somewhere even now, thrilling another crowd.
