Celebration of life for jazz trumpet player

Gene Adams, South Minneapolis jazz musician, died April 11, at age 68, of respiratory complications. As a performer, educator and friend he impacted the lives of many. According to his wishes, a big jam session is scheduled instead of a memorial service. His survivors, which include his wife of 43 years, Patricia Adams, and their three children and seven grandchildren, gave us this announcement:
The Gene Adams family announces a celebration of life in the form of a musical memorial in honor of their loved one, Gene, who left this world on 4-11-05. It will happen at Phelps Park, (on 39th Street between Chicago and Park Avenues) in the multipurpose room between 2 and 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 15. We invite the musicians who knew Gene to come and play their music in honor of him and we invite those who were his friends and co-workers to come and enjoy the music. Food and nonalcoholic beverages will be served. RSVP to Patricia Adams (612-823-8660) or Henrietta Faulconer (612-522-8122) by May 7.

“Don’t be afraid to get out there and play,” was Gene’s message to hundreds of music students. Over the years he taught band at Lincoln Junior High and led workshops and jazz classes in park buildings all over the city. His advice was: “Do your thing. Learn from the other players and let them learn from you.”

He followed his own advice, playing in Dixieland band Red Beans and Rice, Dick and Jane’s Big Brass Band (New Orleans-style brass band), Badfit and Imp Ork (avant-garde) and the Gene Adams/John Devine Quartet. He was a key performer at the Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival. His vast command of jazz styles was evident in many projects. There were lecture demonstration concerts at metro area elementary schools, through a program of the Lincoln Center in New York. There was a Louis Armstrong tribute concert. And he put out two albums. The first, A Lifetime of Jazz, was of original tunes, and the second was a collection of straight ahead jazz standards called Been There, Done That, Still Doin’ It with Hotsprings Records.

Fellow jazz player John Devine said, “Gene played the whole history of jazz, from Dixieland to swing to bebop to funk to avant-garde. He played it all like he meant it. He was not only fluent, but played sincerely from his heart and soul. I’d be hard pressed to think of anyone else I could say that about.”

Although most known for his life in the arts, Gene also worked as a juvenile probation officer, until his retirement in 2000. He always worked with young people, one way or another. Longtime colleague Judy Cooper Lyle, community theater director and founder of the Central City Arts Coalition, of which Gene was a key figure, said about him, “He was generous, knowledgeable, passionate about community arts and sharing his wealth of knowledge. He loved working with youth, and would go the long extra mile for friends.”