When a beloved Philadelphia jazz musician died without family or funds for a proper burial, Kim Tucker stepped in. She’s also the first call for talented artists who can't afford medical insurance or need help navigating housing applications.

For decades, this tireless advocate has been the backstage hero of Philadelphia's jazz scene – and now she's receiving well-deserved recognition as the Jazz Hero of Philadelphia by the Jazz Journalists Association, an international organization founded in 1987 in Chicago. An event to present Tucker with this singular honor will be held Tuesday, April 15, at 7 p.m., at Settlement Music School in Germantown.

"The public has no idea about the extreme difficulties facing almost all musicians," Tucker told the Local last week. "First of all, there are not enough places to play anymore. And if you get a job at a cocktail lounge or restaurant or club, it takes time to pack up your instrument, drive to the venue, unpack, pay for parking, gas and tolls, food and drink, unload, watch that your car doesn't get stolen or get a ticket and on and on."

"Two hundred dollars (the average fee for several hours of playing) just doesn't cut it," she added. "You have to pay rent and utilities, car, insurance, and everything else."

The birth of Jazz Bridge

As professional jazz vocalists, Suzanne Cloud and Wendy Simon witnessed their fellow musicians' struggles and the desperation felt by some when the traditional jam session was the only way they could raise money in times of trouble.

So, in 2004, they founded Jazz Bridge – a nonprofit that helps professional jazz and blues musicians who live in the greater Philadelphia area and are in crisis. Tucker has worked with the organization for years, continuing a family legacy of supporting musicians.

"We are not just background music. There is so much hard work involved," Tucker said. "Many venues do not support the artists. But Jazz Bridge has helped."

In addition to Cloud and Simon, the members of its founding board of directors included jazz promoter and producer Susan Ford, of Mt. Airy, Tucker's mother.

According to Michael Ray, a local trumpet player, "Jazz Bridge is like a guardian angel on speed dial."

"My (late) mom would get calls from musicians who needed help applying for a mortgage or apartment, or needed a used car, or even just a ride to a gig or a doctor's appointment," said Tucker, who recently moved to upper Roxborough. "With Jazz Bridge, we have everything under one umbrella. We let young musicians know that they are not alone."

Tucker grew up at Upsal Street and Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy - in a house where four generations of her family had lived. 

She attended Henry Elementary School, and for high school, she chose to pursue her love of animals and attend W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences in Roxborough. She eventually graduated from the veterinary tech program at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, and then managed the veterinary office of Dr. Dean Hodges in West Oak Lane for 10 years. She then worked for the SPCA for three years – until she developed an allergy to cats and dogs and had to give it up. 

"I miss the animals so much," she said.

A life immersed in music

Tucker's mother was a classically trained violinist and cellist whose musical career started when she was in a band at Germantown High School with Archie Shepp, who went on to become a famed jazz saxophonist, composer and playwright. 

By the time Tucker was a teenager, she was already referring to well-known jazz musicians as "Pop," "Mom" or "Cousin." Early on, Tucker swam into the jazz community as a second-generation promoter, networking gigs for the Philadelphia musicians she knew, writing press releases for each performance and then schooling everyone in the band on how to manage the business of show business.

"My mom had jazz breakfasts for 25 years and was part of a jazz trio," she said. "She brought jazz masters to The Saloon in Camden, and I'm still in touch with those musicians. The place was always packed. I had a mentor, the great musician Bayard Lancaster, on contracts and the business end of music. My mom said to always take time to cultivate the relationships in your life."

Tucker studied piano at Settlement Music School, and her sister, Kathlene, played the violin. Both would regularly play classical music when guests visited the house. At Henry School, Tucker also learned to play the organ starting at age 11, sang in the choir at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Mt. Airy and played in a band at age 16.

"I don't play piano anymore," she said last week. "The feeling left me. I don't have the urge to practice and play anymore."

After her job with the SPCA, Tucker was an administrative assistant to five directors at Chestnut Hill College from 1988 to 1996. She participated in fundraising, events, grants, and donor cultivation and earned a B.A. in psychology. She also taught the business of music at the Temple University Tyler School of Art and was a recruiting agency research assistant for 10 years.

But it is her work at Jazz Bridge that she finds most rewarding. Take the case of Nate Davenport, a jazz musician who had no family when he died.

"We contacted the morgue, they said they would hold his body for 30 days," Tucker said. "I reached out to Philadelphia Crematory, and Jazz Bridge paid for the cremation. There are so many hardship stories like this. I've known so many musicians who simply cannot afford insurance, for example. What are they supposed to do?"

One event Tucker will always cherish was a night she helped put on for the late jazz tenor saxophonist Bootsie Barnes in 2016 at the now-defunct LaRose Jazz Club in Germantown to honor his 50 years in music. Barnes had grown up in public housing.

"Bootsie said, 'Give me my flowers now. I can't smell them when I'm gone.' He was such a great guy," Tucker said. "Music fans packed the place. We gave him flowers, and he got emotional. He said it was the best Father's Day gift of his life. As Gerald Veasley (a jazz bass guitarist from West Philadelphia) said, 'It's in your blood. I wouldn't have it any other way.'"

The award ceremony for Tucker will be on Tuesday, April 15, at 7 p.m., at Settlement School, 6128 Germantown Ave. 

For more information, visit jazzbridge.org. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com