MEDICAL FUNDS POUR IN FOR BURRELL

Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell has sent out a thank you note to the nearly 4,000 people who contributed more than $200,000 on a GoFundMe page set up by his wife.

The longtime head of the jazz program at UCLA wrote “Your loving gifts have inspired us to become more giving and respectful of our fellow human beings. As God has shown us, when we help others, we also help ourselves…. Thank you, everyone, for helping us get through this crisis. We will always be grateful to you for your love and caring.”

Burrell has been on medical leave from UCLA for the past two years after a post-concert fall required hospitalization. His wife, Katherine, created the GoFundMe page after the couple was financially drowning in uncovered insurance expenses, legal fees and an identity theft incident that put them on the brink of homelessness.

In the last week, new about Burrell’s situation spread via NPR and various jazz-related organizations that helped the couple reach their goal. The Burrells will use funds to pay for medical expenses, credit card bills, legal bills, any legal judgments and “to stabilize our housing situation.”