by Jeff Beck Death, Obituary – After hearing the news of Jeff Beck’s passing, all of us are in a state of denial at this point. What dreadful information! The electric guitar community has lost one of its most talented guitarists with the passing of Steve Vai. What a dreadful indictment of oneself! What an incredible loss this is going to be for the field of music. In addition to being a clever maverick, he was an original in every sense of the word and he was a one-of-a-kind original as well. An irreplaceable artist! I am at a loss for words to appropriately explain how tremendously great his playing was and how brilliantly he played his instrument, but let’s just say that he was incredible.
I will never forget seeing him perform live in 1972, when he had an outstanding guitar sound. In 1975, his album Blow by Blow left a huge impression on me as well. He was always incredibly good. He never dropped his level of excellence. Then, after a great deal of time had passed, his rendition of “Nadja” utterly astounded me. During his live performances just a few weeks ago, he was playing at a level that was higher than it had ever been before. To my regret, I was only able to engage in conversation with him on one occasion, and it took place in the Birmingham Symphony Hall in the year 2014. On the other hand, I experienced him to be a very kind and outgoing person. I pray that you, Sir Jeff, will finally find rest in peace.
