“Jim had the ability to see and understand people in their souls, he did not need words to understand or to be understood. He also had the ability to disappear any time and make you wonder if you were in the same dimension ...
At the same time he was proud of his Indian heritage, and/but that was a heavy burden on him because of all the negative and destructive situations that the white man has created for these people for so many generations. For example, one night Jim was coming on stage with dirty clothes and holes in his pants, and we said: “don’t you have anything better to put on to play?”. And he answered: “I am just a fucked up indian ...”. That is what killed him in fact: because he was not used to be taking care of himself, even the most helpful and loving entourage could not make up for centuries of destructive attitudes”.

Claudine François, 2/2/2000


“It was not unusual to see people in tears at Jim’s concerts. The most amazing thing that happened in all our time together happened in a club outside Vienna. When Jim began singing the songs from the legendary “Comin’ and Goin’” recording. Everybody in the club knew all the words and sang along. It most heve been a watermark in Jim’s life to see the profound effect and influence of his music.
We first met in the late 1960’s at a jam session in someone’s appartment in Manhattan, and I was immediately impressed by his sound and spirit. We remet in 1980 at festivals in Austria when he was touring with Don Cherry and I was with Archie Shepp. At that time Mal Waldron and Santi DeBriano were also in Shepp’s band, and they were also to become important figures in Jim’s future. Jim and I discovered that we were neighbours in Brooklyn and then our musical destinies began to take shape. We began jamming in Prospect Park, the site of two of Jim’s greatest triumphs, and eventually worked in clubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan. When I moved to Europe, we stayed in close contact, and I was able to help Jim find work, recordings and eventually to relocate in Europe. We did work more together than anyone else, touring and recording with Marty Cook, Mal Waldron, Claudine François, and eventually Jim’s own quartets. Tempered by the trials and triumphs of life on the road, we became the best of friends. Sharing the dreams and hopes of not only music and life but also chemotherapy made us very special soul brothers.
It took me a long time to be able to listen to Jim’s recordings after his ultimely death. I’ve made it somewhat of a mission to get his recordings that are so poorly distributed into as many ears and souls as possible. His unique gift was very rare, special and important.”

John Betsch, 2000

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