Not quite a month ago the alto saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo had a major seizure while driving his elderly landlady to a store in Brooklyn. “I was convulsing all over the place," he later wrote on his blog, “grabbing onto the steering wheel violently, biting my tongue and basically acting crazy."
Fortunately, the driver behind him recognized what was happening, and after quite a bit more drama -- in the ambulance, Mr. D'Angelo apparently tore through the straps of his gurney and tried to strangle an emergency medical technician -- he underwent testing that revealed a large tumor on his brain.
Within days he was scheduled for surgery and had started writing about the experience at andrewdangelo.com. He was clear about the fact that he had no health insurance.
The health of jazz, as a topic of conversation, has long inspired a lot of hand wringing among sympathetic parties. When the focus turns toward the health of jazz musicians, the discussion assumes a different, less abstract character: solicitous and supportive. Most people who play jazz for a living are accustomed to self-reliance. When that system fails, they lean on one another.
“Since I've been on the scene, there have been benefits for musicians that were in need, unfortunately, because so many of us are," the guitarist John Scofield said in the rear stairwell of the Village Vanguard on Monday night. Along with the tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, he was playing a benefit for the bassist Dennis Irwin, who has recently been struggling with a spinal tumor.
“I'm lucky enough that I can afford health insurance," Mr. Scofield continued, “but a lot of people can't. On a jazz musician income they're getting by from gig to gig, keeping the roof over their heads and feeding a family, and insurance doesn't happen for them."
Mr. Irwin, the regular bassist with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and a seasoned sideman who has logged extensive time with Mr. Scofield and Mr. Lovano, is another uninsured musician.
Fortunately, the driver behind him recognized what was happening, and after quite a bit more drama -- in the ambulance, Mr. D'Angelo apparently tore through the straps of his gurney and tried to strangle an emergency medical technician -- he underwent testing that revealed a large tumor on his brain.
Within days he was scheduled for surgery and had started writing about the experience at andrewdangelo.com. He was clear about the fact that he had no health insurance.
The health of jazz, as a topic of conversation, has long inspired a lot of hand wringing among sympathetic parties. When the focus turns toward the health of jazz musicians, the discussion assumes a different, less abstract character: solicitous and supportive. Most people who play jazz for a living are accustomed to self-reliance. When that system fails, they lean on one another.
“Since I've been on the scene, there have been benefits for musicians that were in need, unfortunately, because so many of us are," the guitarist John Scofield said in the rear stairwell of the Village Vanguard on Monday night. Along with the tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, he was playing a benefit for the bassist Dennis Irwin, who has recently been struggling with a spinal tumor.
“I'm lucky enough that I can afford health insurance," Mr. Scofield continued, “but a lot of people can't. On a jazz musician income they're getting by from gig to gig, keeping the roof over their heads and feeding a family, and insurance doesn't happen for them."
Mr. Irwin, the regular bassist with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and a seasoned sideman who has logged extensive time with Mr. Scofield and Mr. Lovano, is another uninsured musician.
