Positively Philadelphia: Alan Segal and His Jazz Sanctuary
.
By Lauren Lipton
.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sometimes great things can come out of near tragedies.
"I had a brain operation, and I was in the operating room for 13 hours," says Alan Segal, founder of the nonprofit Jazz Sanctuary and the Alan Segal Quartet.
" I came out of the hospital and I was literally unable to speak, unable to walk, I had no hand-eye coordination," Segal recalls. "I practiced my bass playing to recover my hand and eye coordination. I couldn't read -- my eyes would not go left and right. "
And while recovering he began to think about all the people who were there for him during his ordeal.
" During that time I thought, 'How am I going to give back?' And the idea of the Jazz Sanctuary came to me -- to give back to the community that gave me so much, literally the will to live. "
----
Every event is free to the community, Segal notes. "The mission of the organization is to provide free music at community events, and we're still raising money to provide education for those who can't afford it. "
You can find more information about all the free concerts coming up at thejazzsanctuary.com. "You can come, listen to jazz, have dessert, have coffee," Segal says. "Jazz and joe!"
Hear Lauren Lipton's full interview with Alan Segal in this CBS Philly podcast (runs 10:00)...
Positively Philadelphia!
---
And, for this week, that's "Positively Philadelphia!"
"Positively Philadelphia" main page
