Joe Bonner (April 20, 1948 – November 20, 2014) was a hard bop and modal jazz pianist, influenced by McCoy Tyner and Art Tatum.[1][2][3]
He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and studied at Virginia State College,[4] but indicated that he learned more about music from musicians he worked with. In the seventies he played with Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and Billy Harper, among others.[5]
He died of heart disease in Denver at the age of 66.[6]