07/26/02

Jazz fans give fund strong start
By STEVE PENN, The Kansas City Star
 

The start of the Coda Jazz Fund should send a loud message to the jazz community here:

Plenty of people appreciate jazz musicians and the good vibes they provide. That appreciative spirit drives the Coda Jazz Fund.

The fund, established in April, pays the funeral and burial expenses of local jazz musicians whose families can't afford it.

Fund-raising began with a benefit concert May 17, and so far, $40,00 has been raised. That's a strong start.

Up in Lincoln, Neb., Butch Berman caught the fund's spirit.

Berman is president of the Berman Music Foundation and a collector of jazz memorabilia.

When he heard about the fund, he was so moved he sent a check for $1,000.

"If there's anything I can do to keep the music alive, I'll do it," Berman told me. "I just believe in the music."

As long as the fund is managed properly, he said, he promised to donate $1,000 a year for life to it.

That's what I call a real jazz lover.

That same spirit of generosity filled the atmosphere at the benefit concert. An old-fashioned tip jar netted thousands of dollars.

Lisa Poehlman of Smithville just recently donated $4,500, the largest gift from an individual. Her late uncle, Jimmie Lenge, a retired big-band leader, died in 2000, and she donated the money in his honor.

"Jimmie was a sweet guy," Poehlman said. "I met a lot of musicians through him. I just hope the money helps. It's a great cause."

Credit also goes to the Sprint Corp. for underwriting the expense of the concert. Sprint is going through some tough times. Despite its hardships, the company has a heart.

Local musicians gave their vigorous support, too. The concert featured vintage performances by saxophonist Bobby Watson, singers Kevin Mahogany, Marilyn Maye, Ida McBeth and many others.

"Whatever the musicians can ever do to help you, we will do," Don Cox, a piano player, told me later.

My employer, The Kansas City Star, also deserves credit for leading the charge to establish the fund.

"And we will continue to do more of these kinds of projects in the future," said executive editor Mark Zieman.

Former mayor Emanuel Cleaver, an adviser to the fund, was the emcee for the benefit concert.

In the past, Cleaver has presided over jazz musicians' funerals where family members anguished over not being able to pay burial expenses.

"That's enough to inspire the kind of support we received," Cleaver said.

Pam Hider Johnson is program director for the Elder Statesmen of Jazz , a jazz interest group.

"The Coda Jazz Fund has help create an awareness and a sense of good will toward local jazz musicians, especially elderly ones,"

Hider Johnson said. "And it's not just a musical thing. It's a spiritual thing. It's been needed for a long time."

Planning is under way for a second Coda Jazz Fund benefit concert on May 17, 2003. Meanwhile, contributions can be made to the Coda Jazz Fund, P.O. Box 412116, Kansas City, MO 64141-2116.

Coda Jazz Fund T-shirts and posters can still be purchased The Star's bookstore and the American Jazz Museum's Swing Shop.

Remember, the Kansas City Community Foundation manages the fund and contributions go for funeral expenses, not salaries or overhead.

While the coda sign may signal the end of a song, the goal of securing the future of the fund has only just begun.

- To reach Steve Penn, call (816) 234-4417 or send e-mail to spenn@kcstar.com.