As the former executive director of the Jazz Institute of Chicago I have known and worked with Ari Brown for over 20 years and offered to help him and his wife Cherlyn in their time of need.

On September 30, 2026 Chicago’s treasured 82 year old saxophonist was getting out of the car to go to a physical therapy appointment when he fell and hit his head and broke his right femur. After surgery to fix his leg he was experiencing chest pains. An angiogram revealed three blocked arteries, and he was rushed to another hospital for a triple bypass surgery. His wife Cherlyn said his broken leg turned out to be a lucky break, as it turned out—as they would not otherwise had known he was heading for a major heart attack.

Currently in rehab, Ari is on the mend. But when he comes home in a couple of weeks there are obstacles to address in order to ensure his smooth recovery and continued long term health. Ari has had limited mobility for the past several months due to muscle weakness which make walking difficult (thus, the fall). Replacing their current setup with a walk-in tub and shower would make it much easier for him to navigate, as well as a stair-lift to manage the 2 flights of stairs that lead to the only bathroom.

Additionally, hiring a nurse to assist in caring for Ari would be an enormous help to Cherlyn, who herself has been on the long path of recovery from a stroke.

Now is the time for our community to do what it has always done-- to provide help and support for our beloved Elders. This summer Ari Brown’s well-deserved place in the canon of Chicago’s great saxophone players was celebrated with multiple concerts at several venues including the Chicago and Hyde Park Jazz Festivals. He fully deserves the veneration and adulation those concerts provided, and he also deserves as much help in this moment as we can muster.