Following his recent hospitalization, the AP reports that singer/songwriter Oscar Brown Jr. has died. The native Chicagoan began recording professionally at 15, eventually worked and played with jazz and blues legends like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane, and had lately been touted and covered by huge fan Kelly Hogan at the Hideout. The two appeared together on Chicago Public Radio's Hello Beautiful! last November; listen in Real Audio here.
Update: The New York Times has now published a lengthy tribute, as have the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Tribune and the Sun-Times.