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When I was
a teenager I didn’t know what the word “epiphany” meant, but I experienced a
few. One came courtesy of a late night radio station in Rochester, and a
recording of Junior Mance’s “Harlem Lullaby.” I wrote about this song and my conversation
with Junior in an earlier blog entry here. Junior has remained a
personal favorite of mine, and I have had the pleasure of booking him and his
trio on a number of occasions.
It saddens
me to relate that Junior’s health is in decline as he suffers from dementia.
Now at age 88, Junior is cared for by his wife, soul-mate and manager, Gloria
Clayborne Mance. Gloria’s tireless efforts on Junior’s behalf have been noticed
by documentary filmmakers Jyllian Gunther and Adam Khan, and they are
undertaking a project to record Junior and Gloria’s story. It is entitled Sunset and the Mockingbird, and you can click the title to see its
trailer. Their story is reflective
of thousands of other narratives across the country as the misfortune of
dementia and Alzheimer’s become more prevalent in our aging population.
Documentary
films by their very nature are not financed by corporations or movie studios,
thus a Kickstarter campaign is underway to raise the necessary funding to
complete this worthwhile project. Their goal is to raise $38,000 by the end of
April, and they have passed the halfway point. Please consider donating to this
worthy cause, both large and small amounts are welcome. You can access the Kickstarter fund drive here.
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