James Casey of the Trey Anastasio Band died following his battle with colon carcinoma.
Trey Anastasio mourns the death of James Casey, his bandmate. Casey, saxophonist of the Trey Anastasio Band died on August 28 at the age of 40 after a battle with colon carcinoma that lasted two years. Anastasio joined the rest the world to pay tribute to this talented musician.
I’m devastated by the death of my friend and fellow bandmate James. Anastasio’s tweet, formerly X with a photo Casey included, read: “My thoughts are with James’ mother and father and his wife Ayla. The singer and guitarist also Shared a video clip on Instagram The video shows the band performing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, in honor of Casey. It is captioned “We love you James.”
I’m heartbroken about the loss of our friend and bandmate James. My heart is with James’ mother and father, his beautiful wife Ayla, and with the rest of his amazing family. pic.twitter.com/R4eeDkFWJv
— Trey Anastasio (@treyanastasio) August 28, 2020
Casey began learning to play drums at the age of 3 and saxophones by 9 years old. JamBase. He began his career at Berklee College of Music, Boston where he studied music business. Later, he formed a group with Louis Cato. Casey joined the Trey Anastasio Band in 2012 after Jennifer Hartswick suggested him by Anastasio. At the time, Anastasio was the guitarist for Phish.
Casey has also recorded with Phish Lettuce The Roots The Jonas Brothers Dave Matthews Band Chaka Khan, Wu-Tang John Legend Roy Hargrove Soulive Michael Kiwanuka Melody Gardot Shawn Mendes 5th Harmony Carly Rae Jepsen Leslie Odom Jr. He also toured with Meghan Trainor and was part of several Phil Lesh & Friends lineups. He released his first EP in December 2022. Everybody Can Enjoy A Little Bit Of Everything.
Casey had to cancel the Trey Anastasio 2021 Fall tour and several other events in 2021 when he was told he had colon cancer. After his diagnosis, Casey underwent an emergency surgery to remove the tumor. He was then hospitalized for a few days before beginning a rigorous chemotherapy regimen. In the short film Music As Medicine, his fight against cancer is documented.
He is still fighting cancer. GoFundMe is a great way to raise money. Casey’s living and medical expenses were covered by the fund. On Aug. 28, an update announced Casey’s passing. It stated that he had “died in peace peacefully at the dawn of August 28, 2023 with his family by his side.” James battled colon cancer for over two years. It was an honor to his career that he released solo music during this time and performed. He si survived by his wife Ayla Cobb Casey, mother Gina René Miles Casey, father Duane John Casey, sister Rachel Jean Cato and brother Stephen Duane Casey.