Kool and the Gang - Clifford Adams

[RTA6226]

Kool and the Gang lost another member, the world lost one of it's greatest trombone players. Clifford Adams passed this morning between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m. this morning after a valiant battle with liver cancer. He was a Trenton native and had been suffering with medical issues for about a year.

Adams, 62, is best known for playing with Kool and the Gang but he also played with The Stylistics, Patti Labelle and the Bluebells and Duke Ellington’s Orchestra during his career. Adams released two solo albums – The Master Power and I Feel Your Spirit.

Adams’ longtime friend and fellow Kool and the Gang musician Michael Ray described Adams as a loving and caring husband and father and a great friend. Trenton-born and world-renowned trombonist Clifford Adams performs at the opening day of Capital City Market, downtown on E. State Street. [[Michael Mancuso/The Times)Mancuso, Michael said,

"If you knew Cliff you knew his infectious smile and his strong spirit," said Ray. "He was powered by family values and he was one of the baddest trombone players in all the planet." Ray and Adams are childhood friends who grew up in Trenton and started playing music together. "I was there when he first went on the road, when he got married," said Ray fighting back tears. "This was my closest and my oldest friend." R.I.P. Clifford. I'll miss you!

[satipe]

Oh no this is sad. Although I never met him, I did notice at Kool and the Gang shows that he had lost an awful lot of weight [[the same with guitarist Charles Smith before he passed). My prayers and best wishes to his family and friends.