With Ari Brown, Maggie Brown, Jimmy Ellis, Willie Pickens, Frank Russell, and Robert Shy
JAMES W. WAGNER ALL-STARS. The founder of the Hyde Park Jazz Society and co-founder of the inaugural Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Jim Wagner, was in failing health in January 2009 and no longer able to attend the Society’s Sunday evening jazz series. So pianist and good friend, WILLIE PICKENS, brought the jazz to him. That group formed the basis of the All-Stars. Joining Willie today and also having performed for Jim are Ari Brown, tenor saxophone; Jimmy Ellis, alto saxophone; Frank Russell, guitar and electric bass; Robert Shy, drums; and Maggie Brown, who added her vocals at the church service for Jim, two weeks later. The church rocked with the music that had given Jim’s life such joy since childhood.
