A Tribute to Mike and Pat Mikell, Symphony Space - January 22

Chaka Khan, Paquito D'Rivera, Will Downing, Freddie Jackson, Michel Camilo Luther Vandross All-Star Band, Ray Chew, Doc Powell Are Set To Appear

Numerous music industry luminaries including Chaka Khan, Will Downing, Freddie Jackson, Paquito D'Rivera and Michel Camilo will appear at Symphony Space on Thursday, January 22 at 8PM. This selfless and heart-warming event is being produced by Voza Rivers to benefit the Mike Mikell Fund for the highly respected jazz impresarios Mike and Pat Mikell, owners of the famed uptown jazz nightery, Mikell's.

Mike was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis seven years ago. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive disease of the nervous system when it generally occurs between the ages of 40 and 70. ALS is newly diagnosed in 4,600 Americans annually. Charles Mingus magnified attention to the illness before he succumbed to ALS in 1979.

The Mikell's quietly relocated to Woodstock shortly after the club's closure in 1991. Ironically the couple did not move to the upstate artist community to pursue music business interests, rather to seek the solitude that alluded them during their exhaustive 22 years running Mikell's. “The relationships with the regulars and musicians was a tonic," states Pat. “We dealt with all the political hassles that come with owning a small business in New York. Ultimately the archaic cabaret law and unrelenting landlord issues forced us to close."

The last seven years have been a medical expense nightmare for the family in trying to make ends meet. And only recently did news of Mike's illness publicly emerge. States longtime friend and guitarist Doc Powell, “I recently did an interview on the NPR syndicated Tavis Smiley Show and reminisced about my experiences and musical beginnings there in support of my current CD, aptly titled 97th and Columbus. When I set out to record the album, I wanted to capture a New York vibe and had no idea that Mike was ill. Pat told me that the album could not have come out at a better time, because when Mike heard about the tribute he smiled for the first time in a very long time."

The cozy corner at 97th and Columbus hosted a virtual who's who in the music universe from 1969 to 1991 including: Art Blakey, Clifford Jordan, Art Farmer, Ray Brown, Steve Gadd, Cornell Dupree, George Benson, Miriam Makeba, Milt Jackson, Dr. Billy Taylor, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Jon Lucien, Stuff, David Sanborn, Mike Stern, Phyllis Hyman, Terence Blanchard, Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Dave Valentin, Cissy Houston, Noel Pointer and countless others. Entertainment industry celebrities and cultural icons comfortably coalesced in the club's confines-- Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Cat Stevens, Stevie Wonder, Amiri Baraka and Ashford and Simpson--experiencing seasoned as well as emerging artists from a variety of musical genres. James Baldwin would come in frequently to see his brother David who served as the bartender.

“I recall the night Yoko Ono came in to meet Art," states Blakey's road manager at the time, Russ Musto. “Art laughed at first and remarked Yoko who? Mikell's was Art's place of residency on the upper west side. Many of his former sidemen would regularly sit in and those memorable last sets when horn players would lineup outside waiting to jam. I will always remember the club as having a strong sense of community."

Mike Mikell was a self-taught musician who played a wide array of instruments. He spent a tremendous amount of time hanging out on 52nd Street, which proved to be the inspiration for opening Mikell's. That period in the jazz club business was a moment of musical and human beauty where people of all disparate backgrounds came together to experience jazz as life's common denominator. This personal connection was the thread that bonded a tight knit world that existed in clubs over the years such as Minton's, Bradley's, Seventh Avenue South, Sweet Basil, The Tin Palace and the Village Vanguard.

Tickets for A Tribute to Mike and Pat Mikell can be purchased at the Symphony Space box office, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street. 212-864-5400. Tax deductible donations may be made payable to New Heritage Theatre Group c/o Friends of Mikell's, POB 2, Woodstock, NY 12498.