Notes from the Publisher

Gregg Karukas performing his GK Soul Jazz Party at Festival of Arts’ Art, Jazz, Wine and Chocolate series last month in Laguna Beach, California Chris Standring performing at Festival of Arts’ Art, Jazz, Wine and Chocolate series in July 2018

The indelible imprint of musical memories

Ibelieve in the healing power of music and the moodenhancing magic of art. When combined, they can offer an exquisite life experience, especially for those with dementia or other neurocognitive disorders. The Festival of Arts and its crown jewel, Pageant of the Masters, strengthened that belief for me. If you’ve never attended this dual event in Laguna Beach, California, which also includes daily music performances, art classes and tours, workshops and a red-carpet celebrity benefit––this year hosted by Priscilla Presley, with a concert featuring multi-Grammywinner Arturo Sandoval––it’s so splendidly unusual that words cannot do it justice. But I will try by recalling one of my many visits to this summertime highlight, now in its 90th year, which kicked off on July 5 and runs through Sept. 2. During my last visit in 2019, I invited my friend Janet to join me. I planned our outing on a day of the festival’s Art, Wine, Jazz and Chocolate series featuring Gregg Karukas. After the concert, we browsed more than a hundred exhibits from some of Orange County’s finest artists displaying a variety of media, from sculpture, ceramics, jewelry and glass to paintings, photography, handcrafted wood and more. Janet had eyed a beautiful emerald ring there in 2018, when we attended Chris Standring’s performance at Art, Jazz, Wine and Chocolate, and she was hoping to buy it on this trip. Each time, we also stayed for Pageant of the Masters––a magnificent theatrical production that replicates famous classical and contemporary masterpieces of art staged by an all-volunteer cast in full makeup and custom-made costumes. They are posed to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces, with large-scale, intricate sets and sophisticated lighting. That year, the 90-minute spectacle of music, storytelling and grand illusions was as spine-tingling as ever. Longtime pageant director Diane Challis Davy and veteran scriptwriter Dan Duling included their signature gasp-inducing surprises that popped up unexpectedly during the stage show of tableaux vivants, or “living pictures.” As Janet and I entered the Irvine Bowl behind the art show, the black curtain of the orchestra pit beneath the stage was open. We watched the 26-piece band warming up to perform original scores. At 8:30 p.m. sharp, after the sun had set and the moon rose above us, the curtain closed, and the live narration began. We sat there entranced, watching art come to life. A week earlier, we had published the August-September issue of Smooth Jazz News, and Janet had helped us with the subscription mailing, as she’d been doing for five years. So, I thought an invitation to the festival and pageant would be a nice treat for her and also give me an opportunity to pay closer attention to some alarming behavior I’d recently noticed her displaying. While sitting at her desk slapping labels onto envelopes, stuffing magazines into them and listening to smooth jazz CDs, Janet asked,

“When will the magazines be delivered?” I said, “What do you mean? They’re here now. You’re working on the mailing.” She sunk quietly back into her task. About 20 minutes later, she stopped and looked confused. I went over to see if she needed help, and she said, “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do here.” I explained that she needed to keep doing what she had been doing. She stared at me blankly. So, I showed her how to affix labels to the envelopes, insert the magazines and moisten the gummed flap to seal each one. “Are you OK?” I asked. “I’m fine!” she snapped, in a tone uncommon for her. (Later, I heard from dozens of subscribers reporting that they received a sealed envelope with no magazine.) However, she perked up when I played a Chris Standring CD, asking, “Didn’t we see him at that art show in Laguna Beach last year?” Yes, we had. I put a Gregg Karukas disc on next, which also caught Janet’s attention. “Who’s this?” she asked. I told her it was Karukas. “Ooh, I like him,” she gushed. I told her that I planned to see him at Festival of Arts in a few weeks, and when I asked her if she wanted to go with me, a resounding yes followed. She was ecstatic. A true Gemini, Janet straddled life as a physical being while simultaneously delving into various spiritual realms. On her Facebook page “Works at” section, she listed “Cosmic World Bridger,” but in her 9-to-5 life she was a retired executive assistant and bookkeeper. An active member of the Clairemont Lutheran Church in San Diego since the fifth grade, Janet also spent many Friday nights singing and chanting with fellow Sai Baba devotees. And, she participated in their efforts to feed the homeless in Downtown San Diego each Sunday after praising the Lord during morning services at the Lutheran Church. Then, during the holidays, Janet called me in sheer panic. She couldn’t find my home––a destination she’d been to many times, a mere 2 miles from her own––for my annual cookie party. She was parked on a street a block away, confused about her

Photo: Christopher Allwine Backstage at Pageant of the Masters, a costume designer prepares a volunteer for her part in the show

Photo: Courtesy of Festival of Arts location. I sent a friend to get her, and when she finally arrived, she said, “Oh, so this is your house? I drove past it several times, but it didn’t look familiar.” Within minutes, however, jovial, coherent Janet was back, bobbing her head to smooth jazz Christmas music and singing along to the lyrics of holiday songs on Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett CDs. She animatedly retold her experience at the Festival of Arts, Pageant of the Masters, the Karukas concert, and how the emerald ring she’d hoped to buy wasn’t in the artist’s showcase that year. Her recall was impeccable. Over time, Janet’s memory worsened. A car crash left her with a broken leg and ribs and a long stay in a nursing facility, where she was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. When she finally returned home, a stroke and heart attack followed in quick succession. My dear friend of 30 years passed away a few days after her 77th birthday. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about the disease––and the positive impact music can have. According to the Mayo Clinic, research suggests that listening to music and singing songs provide emotional and behavioral benefits for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. Musical memories are often preserved in people with Alzheimer’s because key brain areas linked to musical memory are relatively undamaged by the disease. Additional research has shown that music helps reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure and cortisol in the body, eases anxiety and can help improve mood for everyone. I will always cherish the memories of introducing Janet to smooth jazz music and events, and I’m especially grateful for the healing role this genre played in her life and the joy it gave her. I am also comforted by the feeling that she is in heaven living an eternal life of adventure and savoring her best memories, including those enchanting outings to the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters. The demographics of Alzheimer’s disease Every 67 seconds, someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. It is estimated that nearly 500,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s will be diagnosed this year. • Of the approximately 7 million Americans with Alzheimer’s, an estimated 6.5 million people are age 65 or older, and approximately 200,000 individuals are under age 65 (younger-onset Alzheimer’s). • Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Of people age 65 or older with Alzheimer’s in the United States, 3.2 million are women and 1.9 million are men. • Although there are more non-Hispanic whites living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias than people of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, older African Americans and Hispanics are more likely than older whites to have Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.