NYJMH Festival Issues Urgent Please To Save Life Of Jewish Jazz Great
As reported by Oyhoo!, the organization behind The New York Jewish Music & Heritage Festival, as featured here on Jewschool these last two weeks:
Michael Brecker, an 11-time Grammy winner and one of the foremost jazz musicians in the world today, has myelodysplasia and needs a blood stem cell transplant to survive. Since tissue type is inherited, his best chance of finding a donor lies with volunteers of Eastern European Jewish background.
The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, the only Jewish bone marrow registry in North America, will be testing volunteers at Jewzapalooza on September 25 to join its registry of bone marrow and blood stem cell donors. Gift of Life is internationally recognized for facilitating bone marrow, blood stem cell and umbilical cord blood transplants for over 1,000 patients around the world. Through targeted recruitment in Jewish communities, Gift of Life has greatly improved the chances that Jewish patients will find genetically matched donors.
You can find out if you match Michael, or one hundreds of other patients in desperate need of life-saving transplants. Donor testing is fast and easy, requiring only a swab of cells from inside the cheek. No blood is drawn and there is no charge to join. Donors must be between 18-60 years old and in general good health. Please, stop by Gift of Life’s table at Jewzapalooza to be tested and learn more about how you can help in our mission to save lives.
It will only take one person to save Michael’s life. Could it be you? For more information, call 800-9MARROW, or visit giftoflife.org.
For more information about Brecker’s condition, visit his website at MichaelBrecker.com.
Very sad. He is truly one of the greatest saxophonists of the last 25 years — unique tone, absolutely flawless technical skills. He is a major influence.