Jazz legend Al Gallodoro wows a packed audience of students, faculty and friends.
When asked his secret for living long and living well, legendary jazz great Al Gallodoro offers a simple recipe: "steak, a little wine, a positive outlook... and spaghetti at 3 in the morning when I'm up composing!" At 91 and still performing and teaching, Gallodoro, a master saxophone and clarinet musician and composer, entertained an appreciative audience that filled Uris Auditorium on Sept. 8.
Gallodoro's program, jointly sponsored by the Office of the Dean and the Weill Cornell Medical Student Geriatric Interest Groups, was part of the Humanities and Medicine Series, an effort to broaden the discussion of medicine and the stories of patients through an appreciation of the arts and humanities.
Dr. Mark Lachs learns the secret for living long and living well.
Gallodoro talked about his career, which began in Birmingham, Ala., when he "went on the road at the age of 16." Over the years, he performed with Arturo Toscanini, Leopold Stokowski, Leonard Bernstein, Percy Faith, and the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. More than 20 musical arrangements were written specifically for him. Gallodoro also appeared in several films, including "Rhapsody in Blue," "The Godfather, Part II," and "Strike Up the Band" with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
He performed a sampling of compositions, and was joined in a spirited duet of "Summertime" and other pieces with Grammy-award-winning jazz clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera.
At a reception following the "gig," Dr. Ronald Adelman chats with 102-year-old Helen Reichert.
In between sets, Dr. Mark Lachs, co-chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and the Irene F. and I. Roy Psaty Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine, chatted with the jazz legend, who regaled the audience with anecdotes about his life and health history.
"I started smoking in 1922, and became a heavy smoker of Lucky Strikes... two to three packs a day," said Gallodoro, who still retains a razor-sharp memory. "About 1978, I began to feel winded. On March 25, 1980, at 9:30 at night, I quit smoking. Boom—that was it!
"If I could give up smoking, anyone can. I was a fiend," he added. A self-confessed "vitamin freak" since the 1930s, Gallodoro still drives and just bought a new car. He attributes his love of music as "a big part of the secret to my long life" and recently completed a new CD.
Mr. Gallodoro shares some stories with medical students.
Daughter Alice, who accompanied her father, was visibly moved as he played. "Every note he plays is embedded in my head," she said. "Everything he plays comes from the heart."
A reception followed in the Weill Cornell Medical Library, where the medical students spoke with Gallodoro, and another special guest—Mrs. Helen Reichert, the oldest living Cornell University alumnus, who noted, "This is the best jazz I've heard in 102 years!"
"Mr. Gallodoro has a wonderful perspective on life and a wicked sense of humor," said third-year medical student Tzivia Moreen. "He embodies the concept of aging well, both physically and mentally. I hope I can be like him at 91!"
Photos by Weill Cornell Art & Photo.