NY drum legend, dead at 49

There has been an ooutpouring of grief at the sudden death of Anthony Pinciotti, a leading drummer in jazz, rock and world ensembles, who died suddenly just before Christmas.

 We are heartbroken to announce that Anthony John Pinciotti passed away suddenly on December 24, 2024, at the age of 49. A father, a husband, a son, a musician, he is survived by his wife of 30 years, Annette Tacconelli, and son, Salvatore Tacconelli Pinciotti. He is also survived by his mother, Kathy Hurst, father, Anthony F. Pinciotti and sister, Melissa Pinciotti of Toledo, Ohio.

Sracey Kent writes: ‘We only just finished our trip together to Malaysia and our annual December run at Birdland NYC, where we spent another week smiling at one another on the stand and loving playing music together. We are heartbroken, losing Anthony hurts a lot.

‘We said goodbye on 44th street, talking excitedly about our upcoming tour in March, going from Italy to France to Czech Republic to Germany to Poland to France and so on. We’ve got a gorgeous tour lined up for the 5 of us, and we talked about the van we’ve rented and the drives we’d take — the void without him in the band is immense.’

Vinnie Sperrazza says: ‘I loved his playing. I learned something from him every time I saw him. Especially in the last year, I made a point of hearing Anthony at Bar Bayeux in Brooklyn, most often with two brilliant and poetic musicians, saxophonist Adam Kolker and bassist Jeremy Stratton.

‘Unlike virtually every musician in jazz today, Anthony was not a product of the conservatory or the academy. His opinions, like his music, came from his imagination, from the music and the musicians. There was much to learn from Anthony Pinciotti.’