Stanley Cowell, versatile and innovative jazz pianist, dies at 79

Stanley Cowell, a jazz pianist of remarkable virtuosity and range, whose music borrowed from his interest in African, classical and experimental styles while remaining in the mainstream tradition, died Dec. 17 at a hospital in Dover, Del. He was 79.

The cause was hypovolemic shock, a sudden loss of blood and other vital fluids, said his wife, Sylvia Cowell.