Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015). Alto saxophonist and composer.

Every Halloween, artist Shawn Freeny carves a pumpkin in the likeness of a musician who died since the previous Halloween. Freeny’s tradition began back in 2008 with German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Each pumpkin is lovingly carved in a 3D-style.

“Like those represented, the jack-o-lanterns soon decay and disappear, but the artifacts remain,” writes Freeny.

He hasn’t posted his 2016 carving yet. As you know, 2016 was a terribly depressing year for musical geniuses dying. He may have to make an exception this year and carve more than one. How could he possibly choose just one?

Too see the rest of Shawn Freeny’s “Memorial Jack-o-lanterns,” you can visit his site here.

Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014). Folk singer and songwriter.
 

Ravi Shankar (April 17, 1920 – December 11, 2012). Indian sitar virtuoso and composer.
 
More after the jump…

 
The AK-47, or Kalashnikov, is one of the most popular assault rifles in the world due to its low cost, ease of availability, reliability under harsh conditions, and accuracy when being used to carve crude faces into seasonal gourds.

Meet YouTube user Hickok45, a gun enthusiast with over 1.6 million subscribers, who will demonstrate turning a pumpkin into a proper jack-o-lantern using only an AK-47:
 

 
He has uploaded several videos displaying his incredible skills as the world’s foremost jack-o-lantern marksman.

His latest video, uploaded a few days ago, has him using a Henry Rifle to create a crude visage on a hapless pumpkin.
 

 
Hickok45 describes his videos as an “attempt to educate the masses about how to properly and safely carve a pumpkin,” adding, “word has it that people are still using dangerous, sharp knives to do this.”

You gotta love that NRA humor.

More pumpkin-carving with guns after the jump…

 
The work of master pumpkin carver Jon Neill has been featured in movies and television for years and right now Neill is a contestant on the Food Network show, Halloween Wars. The California resident and toy and prop designer also holds workshops on pumpkin carving and creates one-of-a-kind pumpkins for seasonal events or by request. It can take Neill over six hours to create one of his mind-bending gourd designs, and the results speak for themselves. Photos of Neill’s impossibly ornate pumpkins follow as well as a time-lapse video of the master carving one of his signature gourds in about three-minutes.
 

 

 
More after the jump…
 

 
Instead of the traditional run of the mill carved pumpkin, why not create a Frank Zappa pumpkin this Halloween? The person who made this spifnicient masterpiece has a step-by-step guide: Pumpkins from Photos.

 
I found this Zappa pumpkin via Flickr user Susan Sharpless Smith. Photo and carving by Sarah.

 
Pumpkin found here.