Richard M. Sudhalter, the distinguished trumpeter, biographer, and jazz scholar, needs your help.
Dick (he’s a friend) suffered a stroke three years ago. Though he subsequently recovered from many of its effects, he has now fallen victim to a rare, equally debilitating illness of the nervous system called multiple system atrophy. It’s hitting him hard, and his medical bills are piling up.
Alas, good works don’t always reap financial rewards, and Dick has spent the whole of his long, productive life laboring in important but unrenumerative cultural vineyards. He is the author of such essential works of jazz and popular-music scholarship as Lost Chords and Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael. In addition, he co-wrote Bix: Man and Legend, one of the first truly scholarly jazz biographies, and has played on any number of fine recordings, including two of my favorite jazz albums, The Classic Jazz Quartet: The Complete Recordings and his own Melodies Heard, Melodies Sweet. Needless to say, Dick didn’t make a whole lot of money out of any of these undertakings, but he thought they needed doing, so he did them anyway.
Some of Dick’s friends are organizing an all-star benefit concert to help pay his medical expenses. It will be held at seven p.m. on September 10 at St. Peter’s Church in New York City. Mark your calendar–it should be a memorable evening.
In the meantime, though, Dick is scheduled to go to the Mayo Clinic on August 24, and he needs immediate assistance in order to pay for the trip (among many other urgent things).
As you know, I don’t make a habit of posting appeals like this, but Dick Sudhalter’s case is special. Even if you aren’t familiar with his work, take my word for it–he deserves your help.
To find out what you can do, go here.