How to help musicians who have been impacted by the LA fires

January 15th, 2025

Dear Readers:

…..There is a strong likelihood we all know people in Los Angeles. Several writers whose work has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician live there, as do some personal friends, and thankfully so far everyone I’ve contacted still has their home.

…..However, so many residents of the Los Angeles area have not been so fortunate. As we know, thousands upon thousands of homes have been permanently destroyed, and the crisis is understandably impacting even those whose home is still standing. This is what an old friend of mine wrote to me via email on January 10:

We are five streets away from the mandatory evacuation zone. We spent the first two nights of the fire in a hotel that takes dogs. It seems to have eased up a bit, so we’re back home, but we are housing friends and family that have lost their homes. By the end of this whole thing, I think I will be able to count 40 people that I know who have lost their homes. The village of Pacific Palisades if you’ve ever been here looks like Lahaina was after the fire. I am still somewhat in shock even though I think I’ve gotten some grounding.

…..I hold a very strong fondness for southern California, having grown up in the San Francisco Bay area and, during my career, spending many days over many years there, and also vacationing with family and friends. No reason to go beyond that other than to say I feel sad, and I feel a major loss even though I live 1200 miles to the north.

…..You may feel inspired to help in some way.

…..My friend Rhonda pointed me to a website this afternoon that has a wealth of useful information. Wildfire donations and volunteering: How and where to help – is a page created by the NPR affiliate KCRW in Santa Monica that may help you decide how to be involved effectively. This useful bit of information leads off their page:

While donating items or showing up to sites IRL [in real life] may feel good, make a point of checking whether that’s actually what’s needed. Managing donated objects can become overwhelming for organizations, especially when they exceed demand, while volunteering for large-scale relief efforts may require special training or time and logistical commitments that may not be realistic for you. Both efforts can still be effective — just make sure to do your homework first.

…..The page is a running list of donation links and resources for those impacted by the wildfires, and for those who wish to help. One that caught our eye is a list of more than 300 musicians and music industry professionals now in need of assistance, many of whom you will recognize – Bobby Bradford, Jeff Lorber, Bob Clearmountain, Bennie Maupin, Hailey Niswanger, John Clayton, Rasheed Ali and Steve Lehman among them. The detailed spreadsheet lists their names as well as how you can help them (primarily via GoFundMe donations).

…..So, I thought I’d share this with you…

Click here for the link to the KCRW page

Click here for the link to the list of musicians and music industry professionals who have been affected by the fires.

…..Perhaps you’d like to share those links with others…

Joe Maita

Editor/Publisher

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