Lauded jazz guitarist Russell Malone has passed away aged 60 whilst on tour in Japan.

He was born in Albany, Georgia in 1963 and took an early interest in music. Starting guitar at the age of four, teaching himself to play along to George Benson, Malone would work his way to joining acclaimed organist Jimmy Smith in 1988.

Over the years, Malone collaborated with a slew of jazz and blues's most respected artists, from Sonny Rollins to B. B. King, but was best known for his work with Jimmy Smith, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, and Smith.

Beyond this, he released over a dozen solo albums between 1992 and 2017, leading his own Russell Malone Quartet and Russell Malone Trio.

Tributes have been pouring in from the jazz world, from the likes of Danilo Perez and Ethan Iverson. Ron Carter, who Malone was on tour with at the time of his death, shared a portrait of the two together on his Facebook page.