Bill Evans, Steve Lukather and Friends Live

An Exclusive MTF Event

Thirty donors to the Musician Treatment Foundation were treated to an extraordinary evening of jazz, rock & roll and so much more at the Iridium in New York City on December 5th.

It is never adequate to try and describe any live performance by five such immensely-talented musicians. Bill Evans and his unparalleled saxophone teamed up with his long-time friend and guitarist Steve Lukather (Toto), who has contributed to over 1,500 albums. Bill and Steve were joined onstage by the charismatic Will Lee on electric bass, Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan) on drums, and Steve Weingart at the keyboards. Together, they lit up the stage at the historic Iridium and gave the audience everything they could possibly hope for.  

But then again, expectations are always going to be high when the musicians on stage have played with so many notable bands and musicians for so long. And deliver they did! Calling themselves Toxic Monkey and playing together only about every 9 years, you would think they had all been playing together for a musical lifetime. They were so tight, synergistic and sincere in the obvious fun they were having onstage.  The audience was mesmerized by everything from Hendrix to Christmas music to classic Jazz to songs written by Lukather and Evans and also great vocal performances by Evans and Will Lee. The multiple solos by all five over the course of the evening were stupendous and brought on one round of applause after another, ending with a standing ovation when Toxic Monkey finally left the stage.

During the concert, Bill Evans and others gave the Musician Treatment Foundation and Dr. Alton Barron some amazing and heartfelt kudos for helping to keep the music playing for them and their fellow musicians.  They gratefully acknowledged the 30 donors who contributed in support of MTF. Not only that, after the show, Evans, Lukather, Lee and Carlock came and mingled with the donors for almost an hour, telling intimate stories, answering questions, and being all-around incredibly nice and approachable.  

Between the ticket purchases and some amazing sponsors including:

• Atlantic Records
• Bill Evans
• Cayetano
• Concord Music
• Cynergy PT
• OrthoManhattan
• Steve Lukather
• The Trull Foundation
• Veronica Stubbs
• Will Lee

MTF raised over $80,000 for our needful professional musicians’ shoulder, elbow, and hand care. What a special night it was, and we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Bill Evans, Steve Lukather, Will Lee, Keith Carlock, and Steve Weingart for their generosity of spirit and sharing of their musical genius.