Coda benefit
concert planned May 17
Date: 05/02/03
Credit: The Kansas City Star
Byline: LEE HILL KAVANAUGH
Reaching a coda in music is a journey for a performer, a voyage that
moves through a familiar melody and then leaps to a satisfying finale.
Another kind of coda , the Coda Jazz Fund , honors Kansas City jazz
musicians who have taken their final journey, those who have died and
whose families cannot afford a coffin. Or a gravestone. Or sometimes,
even a service marking their passing.
The fund salutes jazz musicians in death for
the work they did in life. On Thursday the organization announced it
will sponsor a benefit concert May 17 to raise more money for indigent
jazz performers who have died.
The fund was established last year, inspired by
an idea from Kansas City Star columnist Steve Penn. He wrote about the
passing of a well-loved musician and that the musician's family did
not have enough money for a funeral. The musician's friends held
benefit concerts, passed a hat and collected the money to bury him.
So far, the fund has helped six families. Some
of their loved ones died years ago, but their graves still did not
have headstones.
Others died recently without health insurance,
life insurance or savings.
One family the fund helped was the Todds. At a
news conference Thursday, widow Bernice Todd laughed when she talked
about her husband of 63 years, trumpeter Oliver Todd.
"You know, it was a record that a jazz musician
was happily married so long to one person, what with all those late
hours and weekend gigs," she said, with a chuckle. The Todds had five
children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
"Oliver loved his music," said Bernice Todd.
"But when he died, I didn't have enough money to buy the tombstone.
Then the Coda Jazz Fund people stepped in.
"It's a wonderful, much needed organization for
musicians in this community."
The fund has $43,000 in its account, but more
is needed, organizers said. Currently at least 30 families may qualify
for funding . To ensure the fund is not misused, each application
undergoes a background check.
In addition to the concert, another "jazz
angel" painting by artist Tom Dolphens will be auctioned. This year's
painting portrays a trumpeter who resembles a young Miles Davis.
The concert will be at the Gem Theater in the
18th and Vine Historical District. Tickets range from $50 to $100.
Performers include New York trumpeter Clark Terry, former Kansas
Citian Karrin Allyson, and local jazz legends such as Claude "Fiddler"
Williams, pianist Jay McShann, the Scamps and saxophonist Bobby
Watson.
- To reach Lee Hill Kavanaugh call (816)
234-4420 or send an e-mail to
lkavanaugh@kcstar.com.
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