Danny Masters Gorklo: I found out last night that my friend from Electric Playground passed away. Mark Koenig was a really great Musician and friend. I first saw Mark play when I was 15 years old with a band in Denver that was a staple called Kyte. My friend and singer from my band then David Corr wanted me to see this great band. And he was right, they were so perfect on everything they played.
He was a great architect of Sound on the Keyboards and worked in the recording studio at Brown Bag among many other things. So eight years later when I finished my college studies, I answered an ad in the newspaper that said: Wanted guitarist for a working band, big money. I went out to see them and was immediately impressed with Ricky, the lead singer/bass player, and was excited to see that Mark was the keyboardist because I had already been a fan from high school of his work. The whole group was really great. We played together for about a year, 4-6 nights a week, and I always found him very affable and completely professional. He had a great sense of humor, but it was very understated.
We worked on some originals and he created a magical soundscape on the song Cold Alone, and I was very impressed with his playing and producing skills. I’ll always remember him going out on his jet skis at Cherry creek Reservoir. In later years, I would run into him at the gym . He always really lived a good life, spent a lot of time outdoors and camping around the mountains of Colorado. We will all miss you, buddy.
Autumn Amo: We Love You Mark & we will miss you & think of you! Gone to soon ❤ wish we could have had our trips we planned for this summer! I will cherish our time we had together since I was a little girl.
Photo: Mark Koenig & friend | From his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mark.koenig.587
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=175209089200734&set=ecnf.100001349320534
OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or if you want to discuss, call the old numbers at 800-273-TALK or 800-273-8255 for English and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
Posting for my Veteran/singer/songwriter/musician friend Troy Hoss: Heavy on my heart so here goes: This is a very real problem … 22 Veterans a day surrender to their demons. #SuicideAwareness | Call Veteran’s Hotline: 988 #1 or 844-647-1354
From Care2 via Jock Bartley on Facebook: Trump shut down our LGBTQ+ suicide and mental health hotline, but CANADA opened a US toll-free number to theirs… so our citizens can get help anytime, at no cost: 1-877-330-6366
Kindness & empathy have no borders.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, find them at http://www.wikipedia.com
June 2026
17: Teddie Beverley, 99, English singer (The Beverley Sisters); Walter Parazaider, 81, American Hall of Fame woodwind musician (Chicago), complications from Alzheimer’s disease; Prasad Sawkar, 97, Indian classical vocalist.
16: Afsaneh Malek, 83, Iranian singer.
15: Abdullah Ibrahim, 91, South African jazz pianist (The Jazz Epistles) and composer (“Mannenberg”), subject of A Brother with Perfect Timing.
14: Dave Greenslade, 83, English composer and keyboardist (Colosseum, Greenslade, If); Ronell Johnson, 49, American trombonist (Preservation Hall Jazz Band), complications from a heart attack; Notable deaths in the Rio de Janeiro mid-air collision: • Lucas Frota, 27, Brazilian music producerl • Oliver Tree, 32, American singer-songwriter (“Life Goes On”, “Jerk”, “Superhero”) and rapper; • Lucas Frota, 27, Brazilian music producer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_Frota
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Tree
13: Görel Hanser, 76, Swedish record company executive (Polar Music) and talent manager (ABBA); Dee Palmer, 88, English musician (Jethro Tull), arranger, and composer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorel_Hanser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Palmer
12: Frank Michael, 79, Italian-born Belgian singer, lung cancer; Zack Roach, American guitarist (Senses Fail).
11: Philip Adrian Booth, 66, British-Canadian guitarist and keyboardist (“Ulterior Motives”); Stranger Cole, 83, Jamaican singer; Hans Gerd Klais, 95, German organ builder; Vladimir Sapozhnikov, 81, Russian composer, traffic collision; Memiş Selciuc, 47, Romanian-Turkish saxophonist, heart attack.
10: Manu Lann Huel, 77, French singer-songwriter and poet; Jan Málek, 88, Czech composer and music director.
9: Ruth Watson Henderson, 93, Canadian composer and pianist.
