Spike Lee Mourns His Jazz-Musician Dad, Bill Lee

Jazz musician Bill Lee, the father of filmmaker Spike Lee, has died at the age of 94 at his home in Brooklyn. The elder Lee was an accomplished bassist and composer who worked with Bob Dylan and Harry Belafonte, and scored four of his son’s early movies, including Do The Right Thing and the jazz-themed Mo’ Better Blues. In Instagram posts confirming his father’s death, Spike Lee noted that it came on his son’s birthday and the same day that Tina Turner died. “WHEW LAWD,” he wrote. “What A Day. Da Lee Family Appreciations All Da💜💜💜,Your Heartfelt Condolences.”