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Jim Beard, Steely Dan Keyboardist, Dies at 63
Jim Beard, the longtime touring keyboardist for Steely Dan and acclaimed jazz composer/producer, has died at 63.
Jim Beard, a solo artist and touring keyboardist for Steely Dan for the past 16 years has died at age 63. Born in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania on August 26, 1960, Beard took clarinet, saxophone and sting bass lessons as a teenager and studied jazz at Indiana University, where he played in a bar band that featured session drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, John Fogerty) and trumpet player Chris Botti. Beard’s productions and compositions were nominated for seven Grammy awards, with one win in 2007 for his playing on “Some Skunk Funk” by Randy and Michael Brecker.
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