Skokie Center for the Performing Arts, Chicago

On September 14, 2003, The Matt Savage Trio performed its first gig of the new season.  They had the wonderful experience of playing in Chicago at The Skokie Center for the Performing Arts.  It is a beautiful theater.  The concert was a benefit for several organizations in and around Chicago who support persons with challenges…Opportunity, Inc, NSSED, and Medpack.  The foundations missions are to transition persons with special issues into the work force and provide them a means to support themselves and be independent.  This is a VERY important piece in aiding people to meet their full potential; yet, unfortunately, this step is overlooked.  The help provided to individuals in school is suddenly cut off when they graduate, and these individuals must find a job.  But without proper aid and training, how do they accomplish this?  That’s where Opportunity, Inc, NSSED, and Medpack come in.

We arrived in Chicago early in the day.  So, we went to dinner at a landmark steakhouse/jazz club called Pete Miller’s.  Ernest Dawkins and his band were performing there that evening.  We ate an absolutely fantastic meal, and then hung out to listen to the jazz.  Ernest’s quartet is made up of terrific musicians, including a fantastic pianist, a bass player named Darius Savage (yes, you read that correctly), and a terrific drummer.  I hope the pianist and drummer forgive me for not remembering their names.  They were PHENOMENAL musicians, and I feel badly that I can’t remember their names.  I’ll try to find them out and update this write-up.  With Ernest on sax, the group put wonderful spins on old and new standards, making them their own.  Matt listened intently.  We introduced ourselves to Ernest, who graciously invited Matt to sit in.  Who could resist such a tempting offer?  Matt chose the tune “Bessie’s Blues”, because as he put it, “it’s a perfect tune for sax.” With Matt at the piano, the group jammed…huge smiles on everyone’s faces.  The audience was spellbound and roared with approval.  It was a wonderful evening.  Matt and I were totally disappointed when we got tired and needed to go back to the hotel.  Both of us wanted to stay longer and listen.  But Matt had his OWN gig to play the next day, so we had to leave.  Matt and I both thank Ernest and his band for giving us such a wonderful evening.  And, as an aside, Pete Miller’s has absolutely fantastic steaks…every cut of beef you can imagine.  And they even SHOW you the different cuts on a platter and tell you about them before you order so that you can order knowledgeably.  I recommend the restaurant for both their food AND their jazz!!!

Anyway, the next day was the reason we went to Chicago in the first place…The Matt Savage Trio’s gig.  This was a different and special kind of trip for us, however.  Matt had his music to play, but I had my OWN part to play in the benefit.  I spoke to a group of parents and educators for approx. 20 minutes before everyone went in to hear the music.  I was one of three “Moms” who spoke.  The other two “Moms” are quite famous for the phenomenal things they have done to raise awareness and understanding of children with autism…in addition to dealing with their own family challenges on a daily basis.  

The first speaker on the agenda authored the book, “SOULS: BENEATH & BEYOND AUTISM”.  Her name is Sharon Rosenbloom.  Her book is an emotional photographic journey into the world of autism that shows the inner beauty of our children.  Too often, people can’t see beyond an autistic child’s “inappropriate behaviors” to see the joy and intelligence exuded by this same child.  The photographs are amazing in this book.  You have the opportunity to glimpse the journey taken by families with autistic children and view their children the way their FAMILIES do.  Buy it for a truly moving experience!  And now there is a video of the book.  I don’t know if it is available yet for purchase, but buy that too if it is!

The second speaker on the agenda was the force behind making the movie “REFRIGERATOR MOTHERS”, a documentary that aired on PBS and has won numerous awards, both nationally and internationally.  Her name, if you don’t already know it, is J.J. Hanley.  From the 1950's through the 1970's, children with autism were widely thought to be victims of inadequate parenting.  Influenced by Psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, mental health and medical professionals claimed that autism was the product of mothers who were cold, distant, rejecting - unable to "bond properly."  They were labeled "refrigerator mothers."  Though this disastrous theory began to be seriously challenged in the mid-1960s, its effects lingered for decades.  As recently as 1996, producer J.J. Hanley was told that her son's odd behaviors were the result of overanxious and overbearing mothering.  Her family wasted many critical early intervention months before her son was finally diagnosed with autism.  Buy or rent this video!!!!  It is truly gut-wrenching the beliefs people had about mothers who had a child with autism.  The fact that J.J. found seven women who were victims of this societal antagonism and who were willing to discuss their ordeals is remarkable.  These seven women are inspiring and phenomenal role models, due respect and DEFINITELY an apology for what they went through!!!

As you might imagine, I was completely in awe of these two women and their ability to turn their own family difficulties into something so productive.  I have read Sharon’s book and viewed J.J.’s heart-wrenching documentary.  Both accomplishments are remarkable.  And I shared the speaker’s podium with these two warm, caring women?  What an honor!

Well, I got up there and just spoke about Matt and about our family life and about some of the trials and successes in our lives.  I spoke about therapies and techniques we use in our daily lives to help both Matt and our daughter, Rebecca.  I don’t even remember what I said!  But, it must have been helpful to people, because I received a very positive response from the audience.  My guess is that because Sharon, J.J. and I spoke about three different aspects of the journey through autism we worked well as a team.  But, honestly, I completely and totally related to these beautiful women and felt as if I had known them forever.  We became instant friends.  Both Sharon and J.J. are bright, witty, warm, passionate and patient women.  For ME, they were the highlight of my speaking engagement.  I may not remember my speech; however, I have met and become friends with two extraordinary women.  I plan to continue these friendships.

Well, this write-up was intended to be about Matt’s concert, so sorry about the digression.

After the speech, Matt and his Trio performed their scheduled concert.  Although the venue was very large, it was filled with a lot of families and children…the kind of concert Matt loves to do.  So, he divided his concert into two sets, with the two sets separated by what Matt calls his “Audience Challenge”.  This is a time when he tells his sidemen to take a break and he addresses the audience one-on-one.  He asks for song ideas from the audience.  He then plops down at the piano and improvises songs using those ideas.  There were some great suggestions that afternoon, but two of the ones I most enjoyed were Matt’s rendition of “An Elephant”, and his rendition of “The First Day of School”.  Matt’s elephant sounded just perfect for a lumbering pachyderm with a sense of humor, and his first day of school sounded like a dirge, bring lots of chuckles from the audience.  After about 10 minutes of audience challenge, Matt called the sidemen back up and they played the second set.

The entire concert was a joyful event for the trio, and they used the opportunity to play some new tunes written by Matt.  As usual, they had a standing ovation and a rousing round of applause.

Afterwards, there was a reception for everyone, so people had the opportunity to meet Matt, me, and the band.  It was great.

Matt and I both wish to thank everyone at Opportunity, Inc. (Medpack) who worked so diligently to bring us to Chicago.  There was a LOT to do (including rescheduling the concert for Sept 14^th after Matt broke his arm last February and could not perform in March).  There were so many people involved that I’m afraid to list them, fearing I might forget someone.  But we thank everyone for such a wonderful and enjoyable event.  We hope to return one day.  And now we have a lot of friends in Chicago.