An outstanding trumpet player, a wonderful human being, and a person who put a great deal of air into jazz in recent years, has passed away.

She co-create more than 50 albums and many line-ups, but it was only in recent years that she became popular as a bandleader through her band Fly or Die’s.

We speak online in 2019 for popupmusic.pl:

Scottie McNiece from International Anthem asked me to make a record. He really pushes this thing in a being: he provided a label and funds to make it happen. He saw me playing the pieces from Fly or Die with a quartet. He called me up a couple of months later and asked to make some records – that had never happened before. I had a couple of records in the can, I still have them actually – I was trying to do it by myself but I ran out of money. It’s really simple stuff. Live takes over. But for me it’s always been about playing – first thing I need do is to play live. Now I have a record and it’s a lot different. 

I saw her live twice – at Jazz Jantar in Gdansk in 2019, which I co-curated, where she managed to get invited after several years of effort. And a few months ago at Rewire 2022 in The Hague, where, with her quartet she managed to create a sensational, rocking story.

Jaimie exuded incredible energy. Her path has not been strewn with roses, but she has gathered extraordinary people around her.

I had a lot of bird name bands when I first got to NYC, Water Birds, Fire Birds, etc. I’m not sure at what point in the recording process I came up with the name Fly or Die, but it’s the name of the band, the record, and the suite of music. It’s also an ethos — you got to work really hard to take off in this world and I’ve been very close to the bottom before, so it’s a bit of a call to action, and a bit of a cool sounding name! 

One of the best things about playing music is the unity and trust that happens on stage and create a powerful statement. But it a microcosmos of the rest of the world – we had to work in unity and trust to make a powerful statement. Then everybody in the world would be much better”.

We will miss you – your music will stay with us forever.