Followup: Willis Benefit

Reports from New York are that the benefit for pianist Larry Willis last week at St. Peter’s Church raised more than $5,000. That won’t build Willis a new house, but it will help him replace some of what he lost in a January fire. More than two dozen pianists, including some of the most prominent in jazz, played for Willis. One of them, Deanna Witkowski, sent her impression of the event:

I thought that the evening was beautiful, and there really was a lot of love in the room! The concert lasted for about three and a half hours.

Another of the pianists, Lenore Raphael, wrote:

It was warm and thrilling to be part of such a benefit and tribute. We played on a 9 foot Fazioli dream of a piano and everyone got as much out of it as one could get from such a great instrument. I wish you could have been there.

Willis himself played at the benefit, a duet with trumpeter Jimmy Owens. Total attendance through the evening was about 250. For a recommended CD by Larry Willis, see Doug’s Picks in the right-hand column.