Celebrated singer-songwriter and visual artist Ed Askew has died. He was 84.
No cause of death has been reported at this time. Askew's label, Tin Angel Records, confirmed the news on Instagram, revealing that the artist had died on Saturday (January 4).
"It was a privilege to know you and your music and art," Tin Angel wrote. "You touched more hearts than you could ever know."
Born in Stamford, CT, Askew studied painting at the Yale School of Art. After graduating in 1966 and getting a teaching job at a private prep school, he began writing songs and acquired his Martin Tiple.
The following year, he met Bernard Stollman of ESP-Disk, who offered him a recording contract to release his debut LP, 1968's Ask the Unicorn. Between that year and 1986, Askew lived mostly in New Haven, sporadically playing shows with his band (and later, solo) ahead of taking up residence in New York City in 1987.
The singer-songwriter went on to release a string of albums, starting in 1999 with These Nights and Days. His 2012 LP, Imperfiction, was critically lauded — and he made his Tin Angel debut the following year with For the World, which saw him collaborate with Sharon Van Etten. Askew's most recent release was the 2020 Trembling Bells collaboration, London.