Keyboardist Danny Federici dies at 58

Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen and a charter member of the E Street Band, died on April 16 at age 58. Federici, who battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Federici took a leave of absence from Springsteen’s tour last November and was temporarily replaced by veteran musician Charles Giordano. Federici sat in a for a few songs on March 20 in Indianapolis, IN.

“Danny and I worked together for 40 years,” Springsteen posted on his Web site. “He was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much … we grew up together.”

Springsteen has canceled two upcoming concerts: tonight, April 18, in Fort Lauderdale, FL and tomorrow in Orlando, FL. Both shows will be rescheduled.

Federici is best remembered for his accordion on “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy);” organ solo on Springsteen’s first top 10 hit, “Hungry Heart;” and his organ coda on the 9/11-inspired “You’re Missing.”

Federici released a pair of solo, soft jazz albums, and he was a sessionist for Steven Van Zandt, Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker, Gary U.S. Bonds and Garland Jeffreys. The Federici family and the E Street family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.

(The image accompanying this story is from ArtistDirect.com)