|
|
A Gift of Life and Music
Musician David S. Ware, of Scotch Plains, recovered from a kidney transplant...with a little help from his fans.
Do you like this story?
These days, it’s routine for musicians to e-mail fans for support. David S. Ware, 60, a tenor saxophonist from Scotch Plains, got more than support. He got a new kidney.
Ware—who apprenticed with Sonny Rollins in the 1960s and went on to cut more than a dozen records with his David S. Ware Quartet—began developing kidney trouble in 1998; by the end of 2008, his survival had become dependent on finding a donor. After Ware’s longtime producer, Steven Joerg, sent an urgent e-mail to 950 fans around the world, a Florida woman, Laura Mehr, stepped forward early in 2009 to offer her kidney. By May, Ware was recovering after a successful transplant at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
The way Ware sees it, this gift of life came not just from his donor but from music itself: Mehr’s husband, who died in 2007, had been a fan and acquaintance of Ware’s. Laura Mehr did not know Ware, but she knew his music through her husband.
“If it wasn’t for my music, I wouldn’t have had a donor,” says Ware. Having regained his health, Ware, a graduate of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, is planning to release an experimental jazz album this spring. “It’s a very dense style, with me on three saxophones,” he says. “It’s a sound I really wanted to pursue.”
Food Events
Table Hopping with Rosie2012/02/09
The Fourth Annual Local Harvest: Farms, Food, and Family event, sponsored by Slow Food Northern New Jersey in partnership with the Morris County Park Commission, will be held at Morristown High School, 50 Early St, Morristown. Noon to 4 PM; $3. The event will feature more than twenty local farmers and food artisans. Visitors will be able to purchase seasonal vegetables and fruit, grass-fed beef and pork, pastured poultry, eggs, cheese, breads, and prepared foods. Snow date: February 12.
Streep Slips Up, Jersey-Style
From the Editors2012/01/18
If you had any doubts about Meryl Streep’s Jersey authenticity, just know that she was bleeped during her Golden Globes acceptance speech. As a longtime fan, I was delighted.
Graziella's Sewing Machine
Plain Sight: A Jersey Photo Blog2012/02/08
Vintage, lovingly used. Note the wear on the hand wheel at right...
Toasting Italy, the Land of Wine
On the Vine2012/02/01
The February issue of New Jersey Monthly is all about Italian food. I thought we should give some equal time to Italian wine, which is as essential to the Italian dining experience as bread and pasta.
Addition by Contraction
Southern Scene2012/01/27
For the past year I’d heard rumblings that it might happen, but earlier this week the state's plans were revealed—Rutgers-Camden is going to become part of Rowan University.
