Big Sugar bassist Garry Lowe died early Saturday. He was 65.
“We lost our dear brother and sweet friend Garry this morning,” read a statement from frontman Gordie Johnson. “He was my greatest musical collaborator, our wisest elder.
“We were blessed to be on life’s journey together.”
In a statement from the band, Lowe was remembered for his "infectious energies of love, humanity, humour and kindness."
Only a day before, Big Sugar had asked fans to “rally round the Lion” because Lowe was “privately battling cancer for the last 2 years.”
On social media, The Trews shared: "Beautiful soul, beautiful music RIP." Danko Jones wrote: "Garry Lowe was a fantastic bass player and was always a very affable dude."
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Lowe came to Canada in 1976 and worked steadily as a bass player for reggae artists. He was also a founding member of Toronto reggae band Culture Shock.
He joined Big Sugar in July 1994.
After Big Sugar disbanded at the end of 2003, Lowe played with the reggae group Truth and Rights Revue.
Lowe reunited with Big Sugar in 2010.
“Garry and I have been making music together for decades and for us to just have this unspoken, knowing, calm connectedness is great,” Johnson told Music Life Magazine last year.
“Garry, I think, has had a lot of hard moments in his life and I think he has reached an age where he is more clear thinking than he’s ever been, and he’s also very focused on his health. So we’re in the same headspace.”