Diane Izzo dead at age 43; songwriter extraordinaire
Diane Izzo debuted in 1999 with one of the best singer-songwriter albums ever out of Chicago, “One.” She never officially followed it up, though she continued to record prolifically and was working on an ambitious movie project when she died Friday of cancer in Albuquerque, N.M.
Izzo, 43, was surrounded by family and friends when she died. Her partner, Marco Zas, said that only days earlier she was on the phone with her old producer, Brad Wood, scheduling a meeting with him in March to begin working on her trove of unreleased recordings.
“She knew she didn’t have much time, maybe a year with treatment, but she wanted to use the time she had left to work on music,” Zas said.
Wood had produced and performed on Izzo’s first album. It showcased her dark, dusky voice and gift for wordplay that verged on the mystical while maintaining an earthy, sometimes transcendent melodic appeal.
Wood, who has worked on albums by Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins and Seam, said years after its release that “One” was “ahead of its time.”
“Of everything I’ve worked on, it’s still one of my favorite records,” he said.
But despite critical acclaim, the album was not a hit and the label that released it eventually went out of business. Izzo was shaken by the experience, but continued to write and record. She recorded two more albums, 80 additional tracks and was working on a film with Zas, “Black & Gold.” Her collaborators included members of Califone, the Fruit Bats and Souled American.
The movie in particular was a highly personal and ambitious project that aimed to tell the tale of a young woman traveling cross-country in search of self-knowledge, a story mirroring Izzo’s own path as an artist.
“For her, it was about the work and none of the rest mattered,” Zas said. “She talked about not being really well known in her lifetime, but leaving behind a legacy of work for her family that might be appreciated later on.”
Izzo, born in 1967 in Oak Park Medical Center, grew up in west suburban River Forest and later lived in Wisconsin and Palatine, before attending Loyola University. Her family was steeped in music; her grandfather and great-uncle were touring jazz musicians; her father, Anthony, was a trumpet player; and her mother, Sharon, was a singer and producer. Her older brothers, William and Anthony, both played guitar and William gave Diane her first guitar lesson.
She and Zas moved to New Mexico a few years ago from Chicago to fulfill some of their artistic goals, but soon encountered debilitating medical problems that drained their savings. Zas underwent a kidney transplant, and then Izzo began a years-long battle with cancer. A 2008 benefit concert for Izzo at the Art Institute with Robbie Fulks, the Waco Brothers, Sally Timms, Califone, Vernon Tongues, Beau O’Reilly and the Crooked Mouth String Band helped the couple defray medical costs that are now approaching $1 million.
In between cancer treatments, Izzo continued to work on her music and immersed herself in the “Black & Gold” movie. Zas said he aims to finish and release all the projects Izzo left behind, starting with a reissue of “One.”
Izzo is survived by her mother, Sharon, brothers William and Anthony and sister Elizabeth. Private services will be held in New Mexico, and Zas said he is working on staging a memorial concert in Chicago.
greg@gregkot.com
Hey, what do you think of Diane Warren's Golden Globe winning Best Song, "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" by Cher in "Burlesque" not even being NOMINATED for an Oscar??? It would have won the Oscar, hands-down. The Academy should be ashamed of themselves!
Posted by: Carole Johns | February 28, 2011 at 11:39 PM
It's a shame that Diane's music was not heard by more people during her lifetime. I hope that whatever material she had left unreleased will be available someday. She will be missed.
Posted by: Spoonybard | March 02, 2011 at 11:35 AM
me too. kisses diane. big love.
Posted by: JoDe | March 20, 2011 at 04:53 PM
A sad loss for the music industry and I look forward to ANY future releases of songs and/or albums. Izzo was as brilliant as they come.
Posted by: LadyFalcon | April 30, 2011 at 05:14 PM