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The Wavelength
Monday June 23rd, 2014 with Joe Reilly
A Tribute to Don Lahey

A tribute to Don Lahey this evening. Sadly Don died in a car accident yesterday (June 22), on Highway 15 near Selley's Bay. He was 60 years old. In the 1980s Don helped to shape the jazz community in Ottawa as a programmer here on CKCU-FM producing an influential show called Rabble Without a Cause with his great friend James Hale. It was fun, funny and always spot on providing insight into great jazz music. Don was also the first manager of the Ottawa Jazz Festival, as he managed the event from some point in the early 1980s until 1986. At that point Don encouraged me to apply to be the manager of the Ottawa Jazz Festival and my life changed forever. Don had a profound impact on my life in many, many ways - from helping me to develop an interest and love for many and varied styles of music to helping me to take my life to the next level by guiding me in my years as the managing director of the Ottawa International Jazz Festival. He was always patient and open-minded in guiding me and as a mentor he helped shape who I am today. We could all learn from the great spirit of Don Lahey notably how to treat others with respect, caring and kindness. Don continued to work with the Festival as a volunteer into the 1990s as a member of the programming committe and working on the With An Edge Series. Don will be missed by many people and I hope I pay tribute to his love of people and music on this program tonight. Rest in peace Don. With love... Joe.
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian - Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian - Nonesuch
Ivory Coast
Time Warp - Off Center - Parkwood Records Canadian
Come Sunday
World Saxophone Quartet - Plays Duke Ellington - Nonesuch
Flame Games
George Adams Don Pullen Quartet - Live At Montmartre - Timeless Records
January Stars
George Winston - Winter Into Spring - Windham Hill
Brown Rice
Shadowfax - Shadowdance - Windham Hill
Back To Nowhere
Strangeness Beauty - Back To Nowhere - C-Note Canadian
Bourgeois Boogie
Ornette Coleman and Primetime - Virgin Beauty - Portrait/CBS
My Feet Can't Fail Me Now
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - My Feet Can't Fail Me Now - Concord
Test
Steve Tibbetts - Safe Journey - ECM Records
Let's Flip
Microscopic Quartet - Let's Flip - Osmosis Records
Curtis
Ran Blake with Houston Person - Suffield Gothic - Soul Note
All Blues
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - Columbia
Interactive CKCU
Paul Reynolds
Hi Joe. Thanks for helping us all remember a gem of a guy,and a heck of a great broadcaster. If you can, slip in a little Ran Blake. He was a special friend, and favourite, of Don's.

10:35 PM, June 23rd, 2014
Joe Reilly (host)
You got it Paul. Thanks for checking in. Very sad day for sure.

10:51 PM, June 23rd, 2014
Paul Reynolds
Beautiful choice, Joe; I remember that show with fondness. Stellar job honoring a guy who was a mentor and friend to so many of us, in many ways, and whom we will all miss so much. And, yes, the blues is extending all the way down to the Upper West Side of Manhattan tonight, and probably beyond...

10:57 PM, June 23rd, 2014
Paul Reynolds
Beautiful choice, Joe; I remember that show with fondness. Stellar job honoring a guy who was a mentor and friend to so many of us, in many ways, and whom we will all miss so much. And, yes, the blues is extending all the way down to the Upper West Side of Manhattan tonight, and probably beyond...

10:57 PM, June 23rd, 2014
Terry Flanagan
I just listened to the show this morning Joe... lovely job. Thanks...

9:32 AM, June 24th, 2014
Darcie Birdsell
Thank you for this. Through it I learned something new about my former work colleague and I am happy to remember him through the music you have selected. Regards, Darcie.

12:36 PM, June 24th, 2014
James Hale
Beautiful, Joe. And with a deep bow to my former partner's sense of humour... he would've strung you up for George Winston. Thanks for paying tribute, nook.

2:16 PM, June 24th, 2014
Grace Martin
What a wonderful surprise, Joe! Thank you for this reminder of how expansive a life can be when it connects with other lives. Must confess I loved the George Winston.

4:08 PM, June 24th, 2014
peter bunnett
Unable to open podcast

11:18 PM, June 24th, 2014
Colin Sparks
Joe, I didn't know Don all that well, more as a presence than anything else. Thanks for remembering him so well.

5:01 PM, June 25th, 2014
Sandy Lahey
Thanks, Joe, for your wonderful tribute. Don would have been deeply touched by your memorial, as I am. Clearly he had a profound and far-reaching effect on many. Your words, music and memories will be a lasting comfort and treasure for us. Thanks again.

10:39 AM, June 26th, 2014
Norman T.
I am stunned to hear about Don's sudden departure. Great tribute for a man that contributed to Ottawa's music scene so much.

3:03 PM, July 2nd, 2014
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