#j-zone

I was there sweating my ass off and losing all my money to merch and stickers lol 😆

Kool & the Gang Co-founder, Saxophonist Dennis Thomas Dies at 70

Kool & the Gang saxophonist Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas died “peacefully in his sleep” at age 70, the band said in a statement.

His surviving bandmates remembered him as the “quintessential cool cat in the group,” “a huge personality” and the group’s onstage master of ceremonies.

Kool & the Gang formed as the Jazziacs in 1964 and adopted their current monicker in 1969. Thomas’ most recent appearance with the group was at the Hollywood Bowl on July 4.

“Sadly, this was Dennis’ farewell appearance with the band,” the statement said.

The Du-Rites’ J-Zone lamented “another giant (who) has left us.”

“Utmost appreciation for the great Dennis ‘Dee Tee’ Thomas and the music that shaped my life and the lives of countless others,” he wrote on Twitter.

Thomas appeared on every Kool & the Gang album and his death leaves Ronald “Kool” Bell and drummer-keyboardist George Brown as its only surviving original members.

Kool & the Gang is scheduled to play Philadelphia’s HoagieNation festival later today.