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Jerry Gillotti just keeps jazzin’ on
Gilly’s Jazz owner injured in robbery
Performances at Gilly's through the years
UPDATE:
A GoFundMe site has been set up to assist Gilly's Jazz owner Gerald "Jerry" Gillotti with medical expenses. More than $2,000 has been raised so far. Click here for more information.
EARLIER:
As you may have heard, Gilly's Jazz owner Gerald "Jerry" Gillotti was robbed and injured at his club around 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 16.
The 79-year-old continues to recover from his injuries at Miami Valley Hospital.
Juliet Fromholt, a long-time Gilly's bartender and friend of Gillotti, says a concert will be held to to support the man who has brought jazz, blues and other forms of music to the club at 132 S Jefferson St. in downtown Dayton since 1972.
>> READ: Jerry Gillotti just keeps jazzin' on
"Every band who has ever played the club is stepping up," Fromholt said.
Details of the show are yet to be announced, she said.
"Since Jerry is still in the hospital, we are taking things pretty slow," Fromholt said.
All upcoming shows will continue at the venue, which Gillotti has operated the past two years with his brother Tom.
Upcoming shows include the '70s themed benefit show for the Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center on March 26 and the twice-monthly Old Skool Groove night, held at 8 p.m. on the first and third Fridays of each month.
>> READ: Performances at Gilly's through the years
In an article celebrating his 30th anniversary at Gilly's, Gillotti told the Dayton Daily News his passion for jazz was ignited during his time in the Army while stationed in Frankfurt, Germany.
He frequented jazz clubs and heard iconic acts such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and the Modern Jazz Quartet.
He left the service in 1958 with a idea.
Undated photo of Jerry Gillotti
"If you presented (jazz) correctly, in a nice atmosphere, you've got to be successful; people will come out to see it because it's just so infectious and it's such good music," he told contributing writer Kris Alavattam.
Gillotti bought Wedgewood Inn and featured jazz acts there two years before purchasing the former site of Green Derby on North Main Street and transforming it into Gilly's.
There has been an outpouring of community support for Gillotti since the attack.
Fromholt says Jerry's children have shared comments with him.
"He really enjoyed hearing from the music community and how much he has meant to them," she said.
Messages can be left on Gilly's Facebook page.
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