Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Purnell Steen, Denver Five Points Jazz Mainstay, Dies at 84

The pianist anchored the Five Points jazz tradition through decades of performances with his Ambassadors.

Overview

  • Friends and colleagues said he died Tuesday, Nov. 18, at age 84, with his publicist calling their partnership a labor of love.
  • Steen led the Five Points Ambassadors for more than 30 years, sustaining the neighborhood’s celebrated jazz lineage.
  • He kept a regular presence at Dazzle with Friday brunch sets and performed there earlier this month despite health challenges.
  • In June he paid tribute to his cousin Charlie Burrell, the groundbreaking bassist who joined the Denver Symphony in 1949.
  • A Denver East High School graduate who performed internationally, he was remembered for civil rights advocacy and mentoring local talent, while memorial details have not yet been announced.