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Musicians wail for the benefit of
Coda Fund
By James Hart, The Kansas City Star
A concert to benefit the Coda Jazz Fund brought some of the nation's best-known jazz musicians to the Gem Theater on Saturday night.
The Grammy-winning Chuck Mangione led his band through a spirited set. Ellis Marsalis, one of jazz 's elder statesmen, played piano. Angela Hagenbach belted out songs. Bobby Watson, of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joined a team of younger musicians, the Logan Richardson Quintet, for a horn-blaring, keyboard-rattling jam.
But there was a larger purpose behind the music, beyond just having a good time. The show helped raise money so jazz musicians can have proper funerals and burials when they die.
"This may be a concert, but it's really a cause," said Steve Penn, the Kansas City Star columnist who founded the fund.
Since it started, Coda has helped in 11 or 12 cases. Penn came up with the idea more than four years ago, when he learned that many local musicians died without enough funds for proper memorials. "They just don't make a lot of money," he said.
It wasn't clear how much money Saturday's concert raised. The fund had about $90,000 going into the event, and organizers expected the show would push their coffers beyond the $100,000 mark.
Seven local musicians were awarded Lifetime Achievement in Jazz awards during the concert. The honorees were Milt Abel, Ronnell Bright, Pearl Thuston Brown, Tony DiPardo, Terry Hughes, Eddie Saunders and Myra Taylor.
The Star, along with Sprint Corp. and Gold Bank, was one of the main sponsors of the concert.
To reach James Hart, call (816) 234-4902 or send e-mail to jhart@kcstar.com.
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