Coleman Mellett and Gerry Niewood Die in NY Plane Crash

Coleman Mellett

An accomplished jazz guitarist, Mellett was a touring member of trumpeter Chuck Mangione's band for the last several years. The group was scheduled to perform Friday night at the Kleinhans Music Hall with the Buffalo Philharmonic.

Mellett grew up near Washington, D.C., and moved to New Jersey to study at William Paterson University, according to his MySpace profile. After graduating he moved to New York and earned a master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music in 1998.

Mellett, 33, lived in East Brunswick, N.J., with his wife, singer Jeanie Bryson, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark.

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Gerry Niewood

Gerry Niewood was a childhood friend of trumpeter Chuck Mangione and had been making music with him since the two were children. He lived in Glen Ridge, N.J., and played saxophone, clarinet and flute for some of the biggest names in pop music, according to his MySpace profile.

He was flying to Buffalo for a performance with Mangione's band.

Niewood once said he learned jazz improvisation on his own.

"I listened to jazz records and mentally transcribed them. Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane," he told City Newspaper, a Rochester, N.Y., weekly in 2006.

In addition to Mangione, Niewood backed artists as diverse as Peggy Lee, Simon and Garfunkel, Judy Collins, Frank Sinatra and Sinead O'Connor, among others. He also played on the soundtracks of movies including "A Bronx Tale," "When Harry Met Sally" and "King of Comedy."

Their contributions will be appreciated.

It has been nearly 18 hours since I first heard of this crash (EDT/USA). I was asleep when it occured and after learning of the conditions, that craft should not have been flying. Perhaps someone with civil authority will understand that it is not always about the money. The pilots carrying precious souls depend upon their skills to safely transport. Yet it is not always about the pilot as equally upon the equipment, meteorologist and passengers. I regret the loss when such a craft was not properly maintained, or should not have been given clearance in such conditions. Oh yeah: I know; it'll take another few months, if not years for the truth to come out when a witness on the ground already stated that he saw an explosion in the air BEFORE the impact upon the ground: (11Alive/ATL, GA ~ 6:30AM by my own eyes & ears).

My condolensces for the families of those lost. I've experienced some loss within my division recently. Among those both alive and dead, there is a destiny.

None of us are accidents, nor should anyone feel as if they are.

Pray for the surviving families of those losing their loved ones, among whom I've come to learn there are quite a few encouragements there for the rest of us.

This is a tragic happening under any circumstance. But when things like this do happen, with me, there's always that hope that it didn't happen to someone I know or to someone whose name I recognize... Unfortunately and sadly, this one caught me by way of the latter...