CAN have announced that our friend and founding member Jaki Liebezeit passed away on Sunday 22 January from sudden pneumonia at the age of 78.
He fell asleep peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones and will be missed hugely.
Jaki, born on 26 May 1938 in Dresden, Germany, had previously performed with
Manfred Schoof’s free jazz quintet but it was as a member of CAN that musical
history was changed immeasurably. Jaki performed on each of the band’s albums
and his unique drumming style, described as “half human, half machine”, propelled
the band through to their final album recording in 1989.
Jaki was ever present on the solo recordings of his fellow Can members, Irmin
Schmidt, Michael Karoli and Holger Czukay and a member of Phantom Band, Club
Off Chaos and Drums Off Chaos, his collaborations outside of CAN included work
with Jah Wobble, Brian Eno, Depeche Mode and, most recently with Burnt Friedman
who featured on the Cyclopean EP alongside Irmin Schmidt and Jono Podmore as
well as the legendary jam session with Primal Scream.
His influence stretches throughout all musical genres and artists from all mediums
have paid tribute to him and his incredible talent.
Jaki Liebezeit: 26.05.38 – 22.01.17