Acclaimed jazz drummer Woody "Sonship" Theus has passed away. He died March 18, at age fifty-eight. He was at Centinela Hospital receiving dialysis related treatment at the time of his passing.
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Woody had battled kidney problems for over three decades, but this did not slow down his energy or passion for playing. Eventually he succumbed to his health issues.
Among the pallbearers at his funeral were renowned drummers Ndugu Chancler and James Gadson.
Woody Theus was born in Los Angeles on the first day of summer in 1952. By the time he was twelve, he had played the flute, violin, trumpet, and piano before deciding that the drums were his true calling.
Theus took on the name Sonship upon hearing John Coltrane’s classic 'Sun Ship' album at sixteen years old. He made the adjustment in spelling in order to honor Jesus, the Son of God.
That same year Sonship recorded an album and began a long-running house gig at an LA jazz club with pianist Larry Nash, a schoolmate.
While still in school, Theus began getting calls to play with jazz artists like saxophonist John Klemmer. Once Sonship was done with school, he joined another sax great, Charles Lloyd, playing with him on and off for more than a decade.
It was the start of a long and illustrious carreer that would span about fifty years. Woody "Sonship" Theus also worked with McCoy Tyner, John McLaughlin, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Michal Urbaniak, and Pharoah Sanders among many others, leaving an indelible mark with his unique contribution to jazz; his powerful, fiery and 'high cymbal' style of playing. Here's a video from 1982 of Sonship playing with Charles Lloyd, Michel Petrucianni, Palle Danielson and Bobby McFerrin:
Acclaimed jazz drummer Woody "Sonship" Theus has passed away. He died March 18, at age fifty-eight. He was at Centinela Hospital receiving dialysis related treatment at the time of his passing.
