I'm Phil Randlund here at the Memorial for Michael White, a great human being, a great artist.
Someone I always really looked up to in regards to the curries that he showed in his life.
It takes a lot of curries to do what he was doing.
I can speak with myself, you know, like as an artist myself.
The fact that he played an instrument that was not associated with jazz,
but he was in that genre and excelled extremely well.
You know, with all kinds of people, you know, Sunrise, Joe Henderson, you know, all in the 20s and so on.
The curries that he showed as a musician, he also showed that same curries in life.
And he connected with a partner later in his life, Lacey.
It's just a beautiful thing to see the love that they shared.
It came out through Lacey.
And I was, you know, glad to be a part of some musical collaborations with him.
Going back to first cross paths in Montreal in 1973.
We both were there for that festival.
And then later on in the 80s, I collaborated with him and Freddie Redd briefly.
That was quite an experience because three of us were feminized, you know, and so that's about it.
So anyway, I just recently found that Michael, you know, this was the third time for him making his exit.
He actually physically pretty much passed away to two other occasions.
Not too many people do it three times, you know.
Anyway, God bless you Lacey.
She continued her journey.
This is Mark Maxwell and I was just talking with Emil and Sasha about how I was always,
I was a big fan of Michael's music for a long time.
And I felt through his music this beautiful, gentle, heartfulness.
I mean, that's what I liked in the music.
And this doesn't always translate when you meet a person, but in Michael's case it really did.
I felt like the music told me so much about him and when I met him it just confirmed it, you know.
That gentle, peaceful, beautiful thing in his music was born out when we met.
So I just want to say I have a lot of gratitude for being here today and thank you Lacey for having me and asking me to speak.
And I'm sure most of what I'm going to say I'll say inside, but just really privileged to be here.
And privileged to be in the spirit of the great Michael White and who he was and what he represented for humanity on a whole.
Not just in music, it's a great spirit.
And thank you Lacey for taking such incredible care of him and wishing you all the best and wishing Michael all the best in his transition
to other states and other dimensions and know that he'll always be here present with us.
So blessings and thank you for allowing this to happen, allowing us all to come together in this holy, holy place.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Anne E2. I'm Yoriko E2.
And I first met Michael and Lacey at my sister-in-law's house in Silver Lake.
And I think the thing that I just remember the most is that they were the happiest people I ever met together.
They just had a kind of relationship that we all would want.
And I can just remember them giggling.
Yes.
They giggle with you.
We giggle together.
And I thought that's the real music is the way that they would giggle with you.
So Michael White, Leslie, thank you for letting me be a part of your life.
We just want to give thanks and give thanks.
We appreciate what you've done for the music of jazz and just for the music of the general.
Let you know that I love you and peace and blessings be on to you.
I'm John Gilbrell and I'm a jazz presenter in Seattle, Washington.
I met Michael in the early 1990s and I was invited to do a series of concerts at the main jazz club in Seattle.
And I engaged a drummer that was living there, Vincent Jones, to put together a house band.
And he insisted and against my thoughts at the time of calling it the living spirit of jazz orchestras.
And it's a name came from Langston Hughes and he enlisted Michael White to be in that band.
And it was my privilege and honor to see Michael operate and work with him for five years or so through that.
I came to love his spirit as everyone says, his youthful energy, his willingness to be an artist against all odds.
And when it comes down to it, I admire his courage, the courage that he showed, the courage to love,
the courage to be an artist, to be his own artist, to be an individual against all odds.
And the courage to have a life shine no matter what else will happen.
I will forget Michael White.
I met Michael White through my brother, Nicko Syed, Nicko's tenor sax player.
And one thing I always remember about Michael when we did a gig together, opposite Hughes, the headliner,
is that eternal smile that he had, that smile of joy that he had played music in.
And his expression that he had on his face actually came out in what he gave and gives to music.
Michael is a beautiful soul, a beautiful person.
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