Matt and Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan Foundation, May 21, 2005

Photo courtesy of Juliann Tallino, Tallino Photography

Matt and I had an unbelievable experience.  I mean totally cool!

Matt was invited to Beverly Hills, CA to receive an award from the Chaka Khan Foundation for his accomplishments in jazz and for his community outreach.  He was honored along with two other remarkable individuals…Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kenny G…two gentlemen who have used their talents and business success to reach out to others and “give back” to the community.

The Chaka Khan Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity organization.  Its purpose is to positively influence environments; thereby, enabling women and children to develop to their maximum potential.  Their mission is to assist women and children at risk.

The Foundation works to empower women and children to develop to their fullest potential by supporting:

  • Programs serving women and mothers with children, who are victims of domestic violence and/or who suffer from substance abuse.
  • Organizations providing research, awareness, and therapies for children with autism.
  • Organizations providing arts programs for children in communities where the arts have been eliminated from the public schools, and where single mothers do not have the support of the community to provide a positive artistic outlet for creative expression.
  • Programs providing educational outreach for adolescents who have dropped out or are in danger of dropping out of school.

Matt was invited to this Gala by Chaka and by the wonderful board members of the Chaka Khan Foundation.  Originally, we thought his participation would be to accompany Chaka on the piano while she performed her incredibly beautiful ballad “I Believe”, from her ClassiKhan CD.  This honor would have been great enough, but we were informed that Matt was to be the recipient of an award for his accomplishments in jazz and his community outreach.  Furthermore, we discovered that the other two honorees of the evening were none other than “Magic” Johnson and Kenny G!  Matt was so excited, as was I.  We were to share a dinner table with a basketball legend and a jazz legend!  And then Matt was going to perform with a legendary vocalist.  It’s funny.  Matt doesn’t often get “star struck”.  But his eyes were pretty wide about this event. 

The event was held at the beautiful home of the largest real estate owner in Los Angeles and his wife.  There were dinner tables set up in the backyard, with an entire stage set up, complete with piano, keyboard, microphones, lighting, etc.  Matt looked around at all of the tables and asked Veronica, the President of the Foundation, how many people were attending the event.  She answered 350.  Matt’s jaw dropped, and he exclaimed, “350 people can fit at someone’s house?!”  Everyone laughed.

The evening was completely “magical” (sorry about the pun).

It started with some fantastic piano playing by the one-and-only Howard McCrary.  He is a legendary singer, songwriter, musician and producer, renowned in both the Gospel and Secular music arenas. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Howard McCrary performed, but Matt and I just sat at our table, transfixed by his playing.  Matt is “constant motion” except when he is captivated by great music.  And he just sat and listened intently to Howard.  I hope one day Howard might take the time to sit with Matt one-on-one and teach him some Gospel.  Matt said he would LOVE to do that.  Gospel is fantastic musically, and it is a PART of jazz.  I have to say that I was floored by Howard, who has done so MUCH in his lifetime musically and community-outreach-wise.   He is such a talented man, yet he is one of the most humble and kind individuals I’ve ever met.  This gentleman, with all of his incredible achievements and his musical prowess, was loving and gentle and full of praise for Matt.  I felt so honored to have met him.  And the whole evening was filled with celebrities who have big hearts and use their success to help others.  I can’t even explain the sense of community I felt at this event.

Howard’s wife, Tammy, is Chaka’s sister.  She is the Co-Chairperson of the Chaka Khan Foundation, along with being a mother and entertainment manager (among other things).  She, too, works tirelessly and selflessly to help people in need.  And she is sweet and kind, just like her husband, although I would have expected that to be the case.

Kenny G did a short performance after Howard, before dinner.  Kenny G is really phenomenal to hear play live.  He played a couple of tunes for the crowd.  If you can imagine listening to first Howard and then Kenny G… we were all in such a great mood, and it was just the BEGINNING of the evening!

I could write pages and pages about the event, but I’ll TRY to be as succinct as I can.   

Tisha Campbell-Martin (Co-Star of the television comedy “My Wife and Kids”) was the Mistress of Ceremonies.  What a sweet and personable woman, not to mention gorgeous!  There was a Welcome from the hostess of the event, Daphna Ziman.  And then we all had dinner.  After dinner, there was a classical piano performance by Noah Gray-Cabey, a completely adorable boy whom you might have seen on “My Wife and Kids”.  He was so, so sweet, and he was a HUGE fan of Matt’s, which was cute.  I think Noah is about 10 years old.  He did a great job playing piano and is so full of charisma that he melts your heart.

After that, it was time for award presentations.

Kenny G was awarded the “Community Award”.  As he walked up to the stage he started playing from the back of the dinner table area.  He walked around the tables and played his sax.  It was cool.  Then he meandered up to the stage while playing a couple of tunes.  But he didn’t make it to the stage area before holding a note for about 3 minutes.  I’m not exaggerating.  He MUST have been breathing in somehow at the same time he was breathing out.  Everyone was amazed.  He held that note steadily and smoothly while he walked around tables and shook peoples’ hands and smiled for cameras.  If he held that note from one breath, it was the most amazing display of breath control I’ve ever seen!  When he made it to the stage, he accepted his award and gave a brief speech about how wonderful it was to be able to do what he loves (play music) and support good organizations by just making a brief appearance at the organizations’ events.  He said he was a fortunate man.

  

Next up was the one-and-only “Magic” Johnson.  We had been sitting at the same table with “Magic” and his wife, Cookie.  They were both very nice to us, and Cookie was very sweet.  Both of them were so unassuming.  During dinner I had asked “Magic” if he would sign a photograph for Matt, which he did.  Matt was beaming.  And we then asked Kenny G to sign the Chaka Khan Foundation Program for the evening, which he also kindly shared.  Matt was really psyched about having both autographs.  After Kenny G’s fantastic performance, everyone was just blown away by the music.  There was a brief pause as Tisha came up to introduce “Magic” for HIS award.  I quipped to him that he had a tough act to follow and was rewarded with a big chuckle from him and Cookie.  He was announced to come receive his “Mentor” award.  “Magic” became an extremely successful businessman after retiring from basketball.  He is as intelligent and quick OFF the court as he was ON it.  And he is as well liked.  However, he has used his success to create jobs for inner city youth, purchasing Starbucks in inner city locations, helping to revitalize neighborhoods, and creating jobs for the people living there.  He, too, was humble about the great works he has done to help communities. 

  

Finally, it was time for Matt to receive HIS award.  He received the “Super Hero” Award.  This was a special award to acknowledge his accomplishments in jazz and in community outreach.  One of the Chaka Khan’s missions is to raise awareness and funds to help children with autism and their families.  The fact that Matt was born with autism yet has overcome SO many obstacles to accomplish SO much is pretty astounding.  Pair that with his heartfelt desire to help people…whether it is to help stop a child from crying or to raise huge amounts of money for autism research foundations or to participate in bake sales to raise money for tsunami victims…and you’ve got yourself a “Super Hero”.  I am so proud of the fact that Matt has proven the doctors wrong about him.  According to the doctors, Matt would never develop a sense of empathy or truly care about the people in the world around him.  But, in fact, Matt is ALL empathy and caring and wanting to help make the world a better place for everyone in it.  He is a child who will immediately agree to play a concert if it benefits children…children with autism, children with special needs, children who are sick, children who are less fortunate.  Although he still has some of his own issues with which to deal, he is quick to help others.  He’s always been MY superhero.  Chaka and her Foundation were SO wonderful to acknowledge him in such a wonderful way.

 

Photo courtesy of Juliann Tallino, Tallino Photography

Matt was BEAMING as he took the stage to accept his award.  He was SO, SO honored and proud of it.  It was a beautiful award, too, made of etched glass and inscribed to him.  The media photographers snapped a lot of photos of him as he held his award over his head in excitement.

 

Photo courtesy of Juliann Tallino, Tallino Photography

Then Matt spoke.  Everyone was silent, except when he used the phrase “when I was little” and got a chuckle from the audience, who was raptly listening to a 13-year-old boy.  You could have heard a pin drop, the focus was so intent on his words.  He spoke a bit about what life was like for him as a child and how it is important for people to see the person INSIDE a child with autism.  He said that every single person, whether or not he or she has autism, has a special gift.  The key is to find that talent and encourage it.  He made me well up with tears of pride and joy and awe, that my son had come so very, very far in his personal journey through life… And although he still travels that journey, he can look back and reach out to others to help them on their own journey.  I was humbled by my son’s wisdom and confidence and pleas for others to care about the people around them.  Matt is a wondrous combination of young teenager and old soul.  At that particular moment, he was a wise and compassionate man.  I have always felt a great deal of responsibility to support and encourage my son, and I am honored that God chose my husband and me to take care of this soul whose mission in life is to inspire people through his music and his acts of goodness.  I’ve always seen his inner soul, even when he was younger.  As you can tell, I was floored by his speech.

Then, to top it all off, he went over to the piano.  He played a fantastic version of Thelonius Monk’s “’Round Midnight”, causing everyone to shake their heads in disbelief.  He was so awesome.  And just when people didn’t think it could get any better, Matt did a smooth transition from “‘Round Midnight” into Chaka Khan’s song “I Believe”.  Chaka was sitting at her table, and out of nowhere you heard her beautiful voice start to sing along with Matt.  Matt continued to play her song, and she walked up to the stage, singing the ballad with such incredible beauty and passion.  The two of them had not rehearsed the song.  Matt had just learned the song from having heard it on Chaka’s CD…but they performed it flawlessly.  It was surreal.  And everyone gave them a standing ovation at the end of the performance.

I know I wasn’t able to keep this write-up short.  There was just too much to say.  We met so many wonderful, caring individuals on that evening, and we were so honored to have been a part of the event.  Chaka and her Foundation do such tireless and great work, and there is no way we could ever thank them enough for inviting us to be a part of the Gala and for giving Matt a memory to last a lifetime.  Thank you Chaka and Tammy and Veronica and Tisha and everyone else who made the evening possible.  PLEASE forgive me if I’ve forgotten someone.  Thank you also to “Magic” and to Kenny G and Howard, who made the night special for Matt, talking with him and giving him autographs and making him feel like an equal and not like a kid.  To me the measure of a person is whether or not he or she can forgo ego and make everyone he or she meets feel like someone special.  When Sting invites groups of kids with autism to his sound check and gives his microphone to a child so he can sing, while Sting and his band just play accompaniment…he shows the world he truly cares about these kids and does not just profess to care.

Every single person at this event treated us like we were old friends and welcomed us into their lives for an evening.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.