So long, Hiram

I am an inveterate reader of album liner notes (which is another reason to decry the demise of the CD and its packaging. But I digress.). I love discovering the names of keyboard players and guitarists and singers on the music I love. Reading the credits to Stevie's "Fulfillingness First Finale' is how I knew that Michael Sembello was a talented guitarist before he became a "Maniac.' Seeing Patti Austin's name all over Quincy Jones' "The Dude" made me go back and discover the career of one of the purest voices I've ever heard.
All of this serves as prelude as an elegy to one of the greatest guitarists I've ever heard, Hiram Bullock, who died July 31 in New York at the age of 52. The cause of Hiram's death is still unknown, but he was battling cancer of the mouth.
Though part of my affinity for Hiram was the fact that he was a Baltimore guy, having grown up here and having attended the prestigious Peabody Conservatory, I was also drawn to his virtuosity on the lead guitar. He worked with such luminaries as Billy Joel, Al Jarreau, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Sting and Steely Dan, though I was initially introduced to his work when he was the original guitarist in "The World's Most Dangerous Band" on "Late Night with David Letterman" from 1982-84. He left the band amid reports of drug usage and struck out on his own.
His solo albums, especially, "From All Sides,' "Give It What U Got,' and "Way Kool" are masterpieces, and his collaborations with saxophonist David Sanborn on his own albums and on David's pieces are nothing short of brilliant. We'll miss his musicianship and showmanship, but mostly we'll miss his enthusiasm.
Rest in piece, Hiram