AILSA CHANG, HOST:
There's a scene in the 1940 movie "Philadelphia Story" in which Katharine Hepburn reminisces about a sailboat saying, my, she was yar - yar meaning quick, agile, smooth sailing.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
For decades, former NPR engineer Brian Jarboe was quick, agile and smooth. Among his many duties, he made sure the live programs you hear left our studios with the cleanest audio, the most seamless transitions possible.
CHANG: And he did it all with grace under pressure, with an incredibly sweet smile. And while Brian was yar, he was also a rocker.
(SOUNDBITE OF BRIAN JARBOE'S "MORNING EDITION THEME")
KELLY: That is Brian playing the old Morning Edition theme tune because in addition to being one of the finest audio engineers this network has ever known, he was also a kick-a** guitarist. He always had a guitar pick on him. He was always collecting good songs.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
BRIAN JARBOE: One night, Caroline and I were lying in bed, and we had one of the CDs playing in Alex's room, and I remember sitting there talking. We heard the music. I literally told her to be quiet. I was like, shh. This song is so beautiful, you can't talk during the song. And I must have played it, like, five or six times.
(SOUNDBITE OF BRIAN JARBOE PERFORMANCE OF ELISEO GRENET SONG, "DRUME NEGRITA")
KELLY: That's Brian Jarboe during one of NPR's exhibition cafes in 2008, playing the Afro Cuban lullaby "Drume Negrita."
CHANG: Brian died today, following a three-year-long struggle with a spinal cord injury. He was 54 years old. And while he was our colleague, he was also a son, a husband, a father and a friend.
KELLY: Brian, we will miss you terribly. We are so grateful for you, and we're sending all our love to Caroline and to Alex and Anna Maria.
(SOUNDBITE OF BRIAN JARBOE PERFORMANCE OF ELISEO GRENET SONG, "DRUME NEGRITA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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