Mic Gillette, founding member of Tower of Power, dies at 64

Mic Gillette former horn player with Tower of Power, works with trombone players, Maya Schechter, 7th grader, left, and Michael Leamy, 6th grader. He is assisting in the music department at Stanley Middle School in Lafayette. less Mic Gillette former horn player with Tower of Power, works with trombone players, Maya Schechter, 7th grader, left, and Michael Leamy, 6th grader. He is assisting in the music department at Stanley Middle ... more Photo: Deanne Fitzmaurice, SFC Photo: Deanne Fitzmaurice, SFC Image 1 of / 109 Caption Close Mic Gillette, founding member of Tower of Power, dies at 64 1 / 109 Back to Gallery

Mic Gillette, renowned trumpet and trombone player and founding member of the legendary Oakland funky soul band Tower of Power, died suddenly of a heart attack over the weekend. He was 64.

Gillette started playing with members of seminal funk outfit back in 1966 and as first trumpet, he was a powerful sonic force behind Tower of Power’s rise to prominence in the 1970s.

“The Tower of Power family was stunned today by the news that Mic Gillette, our dear friend and bandmate going back to 1966, passed away,” bandleader Emilio Castillo announced on the group’s website Sunday night.

“Mic was without a doubt the greatest brass player I've ever known,” he said. “Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Julia and his daughter Megan and their entire family."

While bands like the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead were shaping the rock scene at the height of the 1960s psychedelic movement in San Francisco, Tower of Power carved out its own funky niche across the Bay in Oakland.

The group had several top 40 radio hits through the 1970s, including “You Are Still a Young Man” and the 1973 grooving classic “What is Hip?”

During his more than four-decade-long music career, Gillette played with huge names in the business, including Santana, the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Elton John and dozens of others.

But after years of touring with Tower of Power, Gillette decided to call it quits in the mid-1980s and settled down with his family.

Gillette, though, never quit music. He continued to do session work and played around Northern California with the Mic Gillette Band that included his daughter, Megan McCarthy.

“My father was a pillar of strength, the brightest light in any room and most genuine soul of anyone I will ever meet, and I am lucky enough to be his one and only child,” McCarthy wrote on the band’s Facebook page.

Gillette briefly rejoined Tower of Power in 2009 where he played and toured full-time for two years.

He was also passionate about teaching music and worked with students at East Bay middle and high schools up until his death.

“My heart will never be as full,” McCarthy said, “and the music will never be as lively.”