[Dixielandjazz] Adieu, Mike Carrell

[Harold Smith]

Some of you may know or heard of Mike Carrell, who has been a mainstay
of the Madison, Wisonconsin jazz scene for many years.  Mike played
banjo and tenor guitar with the Hiway 51 Jazz Band at the Crowne Plaza
for the last 10 years or so in Madison.

Mike was a dedicated Trad Jazz lover and player.  He had close ties with
a number of Twin City jazzers, such as Bill Evans and  Doggie Berg.  He
loved to work with the great Kim Cusack, and brought Kim to Madison  on
a regular basis at the Crowne Plaza to the great joy of local jazz fans.
Mike knew and worked with our local hero, Bob Schultz, now of San
Francisco, but originally from our neck of the woods.  The same is true
of the esteemed Jim Beebe, and Bobby Lewis.  

Mike was stricken with cancer several years ago, but never threw in the
towel, and kept on putting his heart into his beloved msic right until
yesterday, April 20th.  He and his wife, Loretta, were in New Orleans,
along with Mr. and Mrs. Doggie Berg, attending the French Quarter Jazz
Fest.  Yesterday morning, while visiting the D-Day Museum there, Mike
was stricken with a massive stroke, and died later that afternoon.

I have no details as to the forthcoming plans as of yet, but some of you
may have known Mike, and I thought you'd like to hear about him.  How do
we replace those treasures we keep losing?  Answer, of course, is that
we can't, and perhaps shouldn't.  It's up to us to pick up the pieces
and to keep the torch burning.

Regards to all, Harold Smith