Obit: Jacques Loussier, 84

The fine French pianist-composer-performer who, with his various trios from the ’50s on, recorded and performed cool jazz adaptations of many famous classical works by composers including Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Debussy, Satie, Chopin, and Ravel. Considered something of a maverick, he was snobbily rejected by classical and jazz purists alike. I loved his work; he made you realize the breadth and reach of classical music and got listeners to rethink old favorites. He was a legitimate, clever consciousness-alterer and those kind of artists are always interesting and welcome in my books.