This January I am embarking on an amazing musical project that will take me to Uganda to record a CD.
    The Abayudaya  are Jewish and live in the village of Putti which is near the city of Mbale. Putti has synagogues and a Yeshiva. What they are lacking are basic amenities such as running water and electricity.
    There are field recordings of the Abayudaya music and it is some of the warmest most heartfelt music I have ever heard. Through the newsgroup saveugandanjewery, I came into contact with Enosh Keki Mainahh. He is one of the community leaders and also a musician.. I told him how much I liked his music and how I would love to collaborate on a project someday. He heard my music on the internet and agreed.
  Enosh told me that his mother had written songs based on the psalms but didn’t know how he was going to find the money to record. I made the suggestion that I would come over and help produce and record the session. So now I am trying to raise the money to make this happen.
    It is my hope that this CD will generate enough money to not only pay for the project, but help fund some of the many good works Enosh is doing for his community. I can’t begin to tell you how much 10 dollars means to these people. Imagine selling 1000 CD’s and how much that could help.
  My plan is to go in early January. Unfortunately, since it is so soon, it’s too late to apply for grants, which is why I’m contacting you. Your donation will help me make this recording a reality. We are going to a recording studio in Mbale which, although cheaper than studios here, is still expensive.
  I am a musician with many recording sessions under my belt. I’ve given clinics and run student ensembles and produced my own CD’s. I have the experience to make this project happen.
    Your donation ensures that we have a sufficient budget to release the best recording possible. Any amount will help. For $100 you will receive the CD before it is released. For $1000 you will receive the CD and a book of photos documenting the trip. For $5000 , besides the CD and book, I will give a lecture and talk about the trip.
  Please help. You can make a check out to Putti Village Assistance Organization (PVAO)
6227 S. Woodlawn Ave Apt 3S
Chicago IL 60637
Under the memo write recording
I realize that the economy is bad but at least we have electricity and running water. Please help Putti achieve the same.

Thank you,

Mike Cohen

So my sister is doing a really amazing thing next week. She is being flown from Vermont where she lives to Tahoe in order to do a century ride. What is a Century Ride? It's a 1 day 100 mile ride in the mountains at Tahoe. She is doing it to raise money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma foundation. THe best part is that this money will be used to help patients directly.
For those of you that don't know, when I was 13 I was diganosed with AML Leukemia. At that time the odds of surviving were about 20%. Fortunately, I beat the odds. In 1982, leukemia was still a death sentence. I can't begin to talk about the horrors of treatment. Bone marrow tests (which to this day are the most painful thing I have ever experienced)chemotherapy (posion) that kills every living cell in your body. You spend 10 days doing nothing but throwing up. Not to mentions losing your hair. At 13 even as a guy, to me that was the worst part. I know it really wasn't but at the time it felt that way.
On top of that I saw a lot of people die including my friend Tabby. Without her, I wouldn't be here today. She gave me the willpower to fight when I didn't think I had it in me. Watching her succumb to cancer is something that will never leave me.
Moreover, to add insult to injury, the insurance company considered Chemoan "experimental" treatment so those bastards didn't pay for anything. ALthough some of this has changed, it hasn't changed enough. My parents spent many years paying that hospital bill (and they may still be paying it 25 years later)
THis ride helps patients directly. THey help to defray some of the costs that the insurance company won't pay. If I had had this opportunity, my life could have been very different.
I'm thankful I'm alive. after 25 years, I'm just starting to deal with the emotions and horrors I experienced during that time of my life.
IF anyone can help, the website is http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyvt/tntnyvtRRodney1. ANything will help.


M

If anyone is around, I'll be premiering a new project on Friday night. I'll be at Banjo Jim's (9th st and Ave C) at 7:30 with some of my favorite musicians that can walk the tightrope between jazz and klezmer. I've written a bunch of new tunes for Friday and am looking forward to trying to fuse some pretty differnet musics and come out the other end with what is still dance music albeit not quite what one would expect at a klezmer show.

My band the Kleztraphobix is playing on Monday night at Barbes. We haven't had a gig in a bit and I'm looking forward to playing some of my new tunes. Besides that I get to perform on my new Bass clarinet. After struggling with a total piece of garbage for years, I saved up and got a really nice horn. Hope anyone that see this can make it out.
www.barbesbrooklyn,com