Bill Lee, popularly known for being a jazz bassist for renowned musical acts like Duke Ellington and Bob Dylan, has passed away at the age of 94.
According to Variety, the musician, who's also the father of Spike Lee, has died on Wednesday morning at his home in Brooklyn, New York.
As of this writing, his cause of death remains a mystery as none of his family members have revealed it to the public yet.
Spike Lee took to his official Instagram account to share a series of photos of his late father taken by David Charles Lee confirming his death.
In addition, he also added the jazz bassist's obituary by The New York Times and the album cover for the score of his movie "Do The Right Thing" which was composed by his late father.
Bill Lee Early Life
According to The New York Times, the musician was born William James Edwards Leeon July 23, 1928. He spent his early days in Snow Hill, Alabama.
It appears that music runs through his family's blood as his mother Alberta Grace Edwards was a concert pianist, while his father Arnold Wadsworth was a musician.
After graduating from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Bill married his college sweetheart named Jacqueline Shelton, also known as Jackie.
They had four children together who are all thriving in the industry: his son Spike Lee is a director, David Lee is a still photographer, Joie Lee is an actress, and Cinqué Lee is a filmmaker.
In 1959, the entire family moved to Brooklyn, New York.
He later married his second wife Susan and they had a son together named Arnold Lee, who is an alto saxophonist.
Bill Lee, Spike Lee Relationship
The two have collaborated several times in the past as Bill composed the score for the first four films that Spike directed.
However, they had a major problem after the late musician got arrested in 1991 after police found a small bag of heroin during a drug sweep at the time.
Bill said he and his son didn't speak to each other for four years following the incident. He later revealed that he was "glad" to be arrested as it turned his life and he was able to change afterward.
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