Eileen Standley: A Fighter for Jazz Passes On

BY LARS BJORN AND JIM GALLERT

Eileen Standley worked as a jazz activist and musician for at least forty years until her passing on April 28 at age 82. She was a major force behind the Michigan Jazz Festival, second only to Midge Ellis. She had worked with Midge at the Clarenceville jazz series before the jazz festival started at Botsford Inn (in the last half of the 1990s) and moved to Schoolcraft College. She worked as a hostess at Baker's in the 1970s, a perfect job for someone who wanted to get to know jazz artists, local or international. She also volunteered on Jim Gallert's "Jazz Yesterday" show on WDET. And to top it all off she studied jazz piano at Wayne State.

We are not the only ones who will miss her boundless spirit at this year's Michigan Jazz Fest.