MONDAY, OCT 26th@ Jimmy Maks
(221 NW 10th Ave. www.jimmymaks.com)
7pm, 21+ after 9:30pm, $25.00 Cover
ALL PROCEEDS INCLUDING ANY TICKET FEES WILL GO TO THE CUMPSTON FAMILY FUND
Over 40 local musicians join to celebrate the life of teacher/musician Jeff Cumpston and to raise college funds for his children Mary and Bryce.
On Aug 9th, 2009, Portland lost a hero to many. Jeff Cumpston, the former band director at West Linn High School, died the day before his 53rd birthday, when a motorcycle collided with him as he rode his bicycle near his home in Harare, Zimbabwe. Cumpston moved to Africa, along with his wife, Theresa, and children, Mary, 12, and Bryce, 9, last summer. During Jeff’s 20+ years as a top drummer and 13 years as band director at West Linn High School, he affected thousands of people with his positive and hard working attitude.
Oct 26th is a chance for the music community to thank him for his influence in Portland. The concert will feature four groups. The Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra will begin the evening with featured WLHS alumni performing newly composed pieces dedicated to Cumpston by Charlie Gray and Dave Mills. Dan Balmer, Tom Wakeling, Dave Leslie and Tim Rap will follow with set two. Jeff played with these musicians in his formative years.
The Medler Septet takes set three. Last Summer, Jeff recorded an a Latin-Jazz Infusion CD with the Medlers called “Of this time”. Alan Jones, Tim Rap and Charlie Doggett will be on drums as well as musicians Dennis Caiazza, Farnell Newton, Brian Ward, Michelle Medler, Caton Lyles Ben Medler, Al Criado, Scott Hall, Bryant Allard, Warren Rand and Greg Garrett. To finish the evening will be an impromptu Jam set with Warren Rand, Paul Mazzio, Steve Christopherson, Greg Van Winkle, Ronnie Lagrone, John Nastos, Gordon Lee, and others.
For more information about the Cumpston Benefit or to schedule an interview, please contact Ben Medler at 503-452-8685 or ben@medlerstudios.com.
“I first met Jeff when I was in my late teenage years. He was a bachelor at the time and just a great player, not a teacher. He actually had a small mop of red hair in those days. We used to play at the Candlelight every Monday on a strange gig that incorporated funk meets straight-ahead jazz. I quickly realized that he was about shared musical experiences on the bandstand, not selfish personal territory. He was always very eager to interact musically, and possessed a gift in finding what was unique about other players he performed with. We all forget occasionally that we are individuals, and therefore have something to say musically that comes from our personal life experiences. Jeff was the kind of kindred spirit that rarely comes along in this world with the gift of being able to recognize that individualism we all possess, and he could pluck that out of our hearts and show it to us as if to remind us of what makes us one of a kind, both musically and otherwise. I know I will always think of Jeff as “one of a kind”.
On his last visit to Portland, Tim Rap brought Jeff to our gig ( a night my Trio was playing ) at Wilf’s on June 26th, 2009. We managed to get a recording of those sets including two numbers Jeff sat in on. After the performance, Tim, Jeff and I went for a late night snack up the street. We sat alfresco style on the sidewalk, eating, reminiscing, laughing, and catching up on current activities in our lives. It feels like just yesterday we were on that sidewalk. Age has taught me that the greatest regrets in life do not come from things I have done, but rather things I haven’t, and I’m grateful I spent time that evening with Jeff. A small consolation is the hope that he died doing something he enjoyed.
I’m glad that I was a part of his world; the one in which he stepped out into everyday with clean hands and a pure heart. Those “once in a lifetime” people like him, full of integrity, and the gift of infecting us with it, are not deserving of tragic fate, but rather our pledge to share those memories we earned with them keeping their spirit alive eternally.
I will miss him. “
Tony Pacini, and the Saphu Staff.
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