It's been a sad week of losses and reported losses:

Ed Thigpen, the drummer who along with bassist Ray Brown was part of Oscar Peterson's dynamic 1959-66 trio, died on Wednesday.

Clarinetist Dick Johnson, who led the revived Artie Shaw Big Band of the 1980s and 90s, has passed away as well.

Jazz DJ great Ed Beach died on Christmas Day this past December.

Neil Tesser has an article in the New York Times about Chicago's thriving jazz scene.

For More:

• Read a remembrance from a former student of Ed Thigpen's.

• Read Finally, the New York Times on Ed Beach's death.

• As always, Marc Myers's Jazzwax blog is a daily must-read. Check out his interview with arranger Sammy Nestico (renowned for his knockout charts for Count Basie's band) and his retrospective piece on Benny Carter's "Aspects" album. For more about Benny in the 1940s and 50s, see the previous Night Lights program The King at Midpoint.