Kofi Burbridge’s Fire Will Always Burn Brightly in Our Hearts
When Kofi Burbridge had surgery January 3rd related to his heart surgery in 2017, Tedeschi Trucks Band announced a temporary replacement for him but fully anticipated his return, as did we all. Six weeks later (February 15), Burbridge left us at age 57, and we may never find another quite like him.
Born September 22, 1961, Burbridge was praised as a wonderful musician and even more so for being a great man. From Wikipedia: Brother Oteil Burbridge “cites his brother as his biggest influence and mentions Kofi was found to have perfect pitch around the age of seven.”
Kofi Burbridge first played keyboards and flute in Knee-Deep with Oteil and Jeff Sipe (Apt. Q-258), then playing for a time with The Aquarium Rescue Unit under the influence of Col. Bruce Hampton (Ret.), again with Oteil and Sipe. Then he joined the brilliant Derek Trucks Band along with Todd Smallie, Yonrico Scott, Count M’Butu, and Mike Mattison. He performed on six albums with The Derek Trucks Band.
When Trucks and Susan Tedeschi joined musical forces, Burbridge was the man on keyboards and flute in that incredible big band. He played on all six TTB albums, including the brand new Signs, a more melancholy album in part as it was affected by the passings of Leon Russell, Butch Trucks, Hampton, and Gregg Allman and by Burbridge’s heart surgery.
Kofi Burbridge’s fire will always burn brightly in our hearts.
