Detroit jazzman Charles Boles has died

The pianist was 91 years old

Jan 23, 2024 at 11:13 am

Charles Boles has tickled the ivories for more than 60 years, in a career that reaches from long-ago Hastings Street to today. Metro Times archives

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Detroit has lost one of its longtime jazz greats.

Pianist Charles passed away on Friday, January 19. He was 91. A family member confirmed the death to Metro Times.

Boles’s jazz career spanned over six decades, combining elements of gospel, blues, and bebop on the piano. Born in Detroit in 1932, he was a regular performer at bars along Detroit’s famed Hastings Street. He was once the music director for a young Aretha Franklin and has toured with the likes of B.B. King, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, and many more.

He continued to perform into his eighties with the Charles Boles Quartet, which had a regular gig at Grosse Pointe’s Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe for several years in the mid-2010s.

Boles released his first album at 81 years old, the Charles Boles Quartet’s Blue Continuum in 2014.

Boles's final arrangements will take place at New Greater Zion Hill Church located at 18891 St. Louis St in Detroit on Friday, Feb. 2, and Saturday, Feb. 3. Public viewing hours on Friday, Feb. 2 are from 4-5 p.m. with a memorial service to follow 5-7 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 3, family hour is from 10:30-11 a.m. with service at 11 a.m.

Last of the Bebop Legends: The venerable Charles Boles, a charter member of Detroit’s jazz pantheon, continues sharing his art.

This article has been updated with information on Boles’s funeral arrangements.

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Randiah Camille Green

After living in Japan and traveling across Asia, Randiah Camille Green realized Detroit will always be home. And when she says Detroit, she's talking about the hood, not the suburbs. She has bylines in Planet Detroit News , Bridge Detroit , BLAC magazine, and Model D .Her favorite pastimes are meditating on...