Last Tuesday evening 22 February 2011 Jazz at Lincoln Center presented a fund raising concert for the Jazz Foundation in Dizzy's Club Coca Cola. The concert was in memory of my brother Dennis Irwin.
The Jazz Foundation paid medical bills for Dennis when he became ill. His stage four cancer was discovered when he went for an MRI at Englewood Hospital in New Jersey, which is centerpiece of the work done by The Jazz Foundation. This annual fund raiser is in memory of Dennis, and the Dennis Irwin fund is dedicated to cancer screenings for jazz musicians.
Here is a slide show by Frederic S. Sater of some of the highlights of the amazing evening of music making. I'm grateful to Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Adrian Ellis, Todd Barkan, and Wendy Oxenhorn for arranging this special evening; and to all the master musicians who gave of their time and talent to help their brothers and sisters in the jazz profession in need of medical assistance. Playing Our Parts is an annual event given by Jazz at Lincoln Center.
One of the most important people in setting up this event is Todd Barkan, currently in the hospital recovering from a serious auto accident. We all send Todd our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
