Slide Hampton, a jazz mainstay on the trombone for more than 60 years, died Saturday at his home in Orange, NJ at age 89. His grandson confirmed his death, but didn’t give a cause.
Hampton was one of the top trombonists of his era, starting in the late 1950s post-bebop scene. He was part of bands with Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson, among others. He won Grammy Awards for his arrangements in 1998 and in 2005, and later in 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts named him a Jazz Master.
In the 1980s, he led a band called the World of Trombones, a nine trombone ensemble.
Hampton married Althea Gardner in 1948, divorcing in 1997. Survivors include his brother, Maceo; his children, Jacquelyn, Lamont, and Locksley Jr.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
