Grace Is Gone: Dave Matthews Band Saxophonist LeRoi Moore Dies

LeRoi Moore, saxophonist in the Dave Matthews Band, died Tuesday at age 46. A statement posted on the band’s official site reads:

We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.

On June 30, Moore suffered life-threatening injuries (including a punctured lung and broken ribs) in an ATV accident on his farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was admitted and treated at the University of Virginia Health System, where he was eventually discharged. On July 18, though, prior to his return to Los Angeles, he was readmitted for unspecified reasons.

In light of Moore’s injuries and anticipated convalescence, saxophonist Jeff Coffin (of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones) stepped in for the Dave Matthews Band’s current summer tour. While no announcement has yet been made regarding the tour’s status (or if Moore’s death will affect certain dates), Tuesday night’s performance at the Staples Center in Los Angeles took place as scheduled, commencing with “Bartender” in tribute to the fallen sax man.

In the fifteen years since its major-label debut, the Dave Matthews Band has sold in excess of 31 million albums in the United States, won a Grammy Award (in 1996, for “So Much To Say”) while being nominated twelve times over, and remains one of the premiere draws on the concert-touring circuit. Whether in the studio or on the road, LeRoi Moore’s talent adeptly suited the jazz and jam-band stylings of songs like “Crush,” “Ants Marching,” and “What Would You Say,” proving him an integral asset to the group he helped establish.

Article Author: Donald Gibson

A contributing music editor at Blogcritics, Donald Gibson devotes most of his writing to music criticism, paying particular attention to the craft and aesthetic of songwriting. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of South Florida.
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