Stakes Is High

Public fundraising is a pox on humanity, the obnoxious twin of sleazy congressional lobbying. Countless bulk mail and spam solicitations, radio marathons that beg, plead, rant, dun and guilt-trip us for weeks every quarter, the Galas and Awards asking us to reach deeper into our shallow resources, as if money were a flush brook overflowing our bank accounts, not a trickle needed to quench our thirsts.

And yet, New York's leaders of corporate capitalism are genuinely compassionate when giving to jazz. On May 4, at the Jazz Foundation of America's "Great Night in Harlem," an annual fundraiser at the Apollo Theater, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc., Richard D. Parsons, commanded the stage comfortably, announcing that $1 million had been donated by private parties for emergency health, ongoing relocation and employment programs serving musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. One "angel," Dr. Agnes Varis (founder of Agvar Chemicals, a private supplier of bulk pharmaceutical ingredients; vice-chair of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, described by a colleague as "one of the most outspoken feminist liberals you'll ever meet") kicked in $500,000 to employ elderly musicians in public schools in several states including New York. R. Jarrett Lilien, president of E*Trade Financial, announced a $100,000 contribution toward construction of a residence for musicians in extremis.

Bill Cosby and Danny Glover were celeb hosts, several New Orleans bands played and Elvis Costello wailed his "Tears, Tears and More Tears" complaint: "There must be something better than this/because it can't get much worse." But the soul of the night came strongest from wheelchair-bound blues singer/songwriter Johnnie Mae Dunson, insisting on her due while pianist Henry Butler pounded boogie chords.

That's a hard act to follow, but Jazz at Lincoln Center tries June 5, when Bernie Mac hosts its annual spring gala (also at the Apollo) with jazz sympathizers Tracy Chapman, Joe Cocker, John Mayer, John Legend and Natalie Merchant along with the Ahmad Jamal Trio and Wynton Marsalis Septet. A seat at the post-show dinner will run you $1,000 per ticket-funds that benefit Jazz at Lincoln Center. Another helluva cause.