(B}BluesWire:-) Blind blues-rock guitarist Jeff Healey died Sunday March 2 in St. Joseph’s Hospital in his native Toronto, after a lifetime battle with the rare cancer, retino blastoma, that had blinded him as a child. While Healey was perhaps best known for the blues-rock guitar which he played unconventionally with the guitar laid across his lap, he also had released a number of fine jazz recordings, and played trumpet and clarinet as well as guitar. He appeared in the movie Roadhouse in 1989, and had been nominated for a Grammy award the previous year.  After several popular rock and blues-rock recordings on Arista, and worldwide touring with luminaries such as B.B. King, Healey, an avid collector of vintage records, turned to his first love, jazz, and made several releases on the Edmonton label Stony Plain records.  His first blues-rock record in 8 years, “Mess of Blues” was being prepared for release when he died.  The recording includes studio material recorded in Toronto as well as live tracks recorded with the band in Canada and England.  Healey was 41 years old, and is survived by his wife, Cristie, as well as two children.