R.I.P.  Helen Maleed

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Ian Mann on the tragic loss of publicist Helen Maleed.

I was saddened to learn from Sebastian Scotney’s London Jazz Blog of the tragic death of publicist Helen Maleed following a long battle against cancer. It came as a great shock to me, shamefully I didn’t even know that Helen was ill.

Helen was very supportive of me when I first set up The Jazzmann site a couple of years ago, supplying albums for review, press passes for gigs and offering plenty of very helpful advice. Her clients included Soweto Kinch,Courtney Pine, Michael Janisch and Derek Nash among many others.
As the site took off we kind of lost touch-I last heard from her around a year ago-now I know why.

We never met-contact was always by post or email but I still considered Helen to be a good friend. Now she has gone, years before her time. What a tragic loss, not just for her family and friends but for the music itself.

RIP Helen. Thank you (belatedly) for your support,practical help and friendship.

Ian Mann.