Jeff Healey was more than a guitarist. He was more than a musician. He was an inspiration.

From the way he learned how to play guitar to the way he went ahead and played it, the Canadian rock and jazz legend was just that and nothing less.

Perhaps that's why those that knew him well were among the most surprised by news of his death Sunday. The 41-year-old died in a Toronto hospital following a long battle with cancer, stunning many that expected the illness to be merely the latest setback he stepped around with ease.

Colin Bray, the bass player with Healey's jazz band and long-time friend, expressed shock alongside sorrow and grief.

"I don't think any of us thought this was going to happen," Bray said. "We just thought he was going to bounce back as he always does."

Healey, a Toronto native, battled cancer since the age of one when a rare form of retinal cancer known as Retinoblastoma claimed his eyesight. It was that event that led him to develop an intensely unique guitar style, laying the instrument on his lap and feeling his way along the fret board while belting out lyrics in his soulful voice.

But the cancer would make several unfortunate resurgences. In recent years Healey underwent multiple operations to remove tumours from his lungs and leg, though it rarely, if ever slowed his sublime abilities and wicked sense of humour, which is just how Jazz Wizards bandmate Gary Scriven remembered the frontman.

"He drew his strength from somewhere, I don't know where, but it spread among the band and flowed into the audience," Scriven recalled.

Healey originally rose to stardom as the leader of the Jeff Healey Band, a rock-oriented trio that garnered a Juno award, international acclaim and platinum record sales with the 1988 album "See the Light."

But his true love was always jazz, a musical avenue that dominated the last three albums he released and allowed him to demonstrate additional abilities on the likes of trumpet and drums. Still, genres meant little to Healey because he did so well to transcend them, and it was that versatility and sincerity that ultimately led him to share stages with the likes of George Harrison, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King.

In essence, Healey was a musical ambassador, which is why he also found success as a radio host in Toronto, sharing gems plucked from the depths of his personal collection of some 30,000 records.

But Bray said his friend also drew tremendous strength from live shows, and saw himself as an entertainer above all else. Perhaps his strongest moment during his final month came during his last performance, a set he did in Sarnia, Ont. on Feb. 2.

"At the end of it, I can't believe how much better he looked. It was like blood to him," Bray said.

Adding a bitter irony to the news is the fact that Healey's death comes just weeks before he was slated to release his first rock album in eight years.

"Mess of Blues" will hit stores across North America on April 22.

Healey is backed on the album by the resident band at Jeff Healey's Roadhouse, the blues club he founded and named after the 1989 Patrick Swayze movie in which he appeared. Even more gripping, the album features two live tracks which were recorded during his final months, now sure to become classics.

Healey is survived by his wife Christie and two children Rachel, 13 and son Derek, 3.

Funeral details haven't been announced, though whenever and wherever it's held, you can bet there will be plenty of music, which doesn't surprise Toronto music publicist and journalist Richard Flohil, who said Healey's legacy is that of a generous man whose passion for music knew no limits.

"Music gave him the strength to deal with what was happening with his body," Flohil said. "He was sick, he was not in good health but the minute he started to play he was smiling, he was happy, he was cracking jokes ... it gave him life."

More on Jeff Healey:

Jeff Healey's Discography
The Jeff Healey Band
Jeff Healey's Roadhouse
Jeff Healey's Official Website