NEW YORK (AP) β James Taylor and Paul Simon paid tribute to late jazz great Michael Brecker with performances and kind words at a cancer benefit for their friend who died in 2007.
Taylor, who Brecker’s widow said had the flu, performed “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” in New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He said it was the first song he ever played with the jazz saxophonist.
Grammy-winning Brecker died at age 57. He struggled with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer in which the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells. Tuesday’s benefit raised money to assist two doctors working at Columbia University Medical Center and fighting to cure MDS.
Taylor joined forces with Simon, Dianne Reeves and Bobby McFerrin to close the 90-minute show with “Shower the People.”
