Clinton honors Jackson


July 8, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

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Clinton honors Jackson

GONAIVES, Haiti — Bill Clinton paused during an aid mission to Haiti on Tuesday to honor Michael Jackson for helping the Democratic Party raise cash at a crucial time.

The former U.S. president, now a special U.N. envoy to Haiti, recalled Jackson’s performance at a 2002 fundraiser at New York’s Apollo theater.

“He basically helped save my party from terrible financial distress, so he was very kind to me personally,” Clinton said during a stop on his tour of a still-struggling northern Haiti, where floods killed several hundred people last year.

Clinton, his face bright red under a scorching summertime Caribbean sun, spoke fondly of Jackson, recalling that the singer performed at his first inauguration in 1993. He also said Jackson had struggled with the burden of early fame.

“He was an immensely gifted man and I think he basically meant well,” Clinton told The Associated Press. “I know about all the trouble he had in his life, and I hope he will be remembered for his contribution as an artist. I hope his children turn out well. That would be the greatest tribute you could have.”

New York jazz festival will return next year

NEW YORK — Jazz fans can mark down June 2010 on their calendars. The Big Apple will once again be hosting a flagship summer jazz festival under new sponsorship.

This year the long-running JVC Jazz Festival New York was canceled after the Japanese electronics company announced it would not sponsor any jazz events in 2009.

Producer George Wein told The Associated Press on Tuesday that a multivenue New York festival will be back next June, thanks to a new sponsorship deal with medical technology company CareFusion, a spinoff from Cardinal Health.

Today’s birthdays

Singer Jerry Vale is 77. Singer Steve Lawrence is 74. Actor Jeffrey Tambor is 65. Children’s singer Raffi is 61. Actress Anjelica Huston is 58. Actor Kevin Bacon is 51. Country singer Toby Keith is 48. Keyboardist Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode is 48. Singer Joan Osborne is 47. Singer Beck is 39. Actor Milo Ventimiglia is 32. Actress Sophia Bush is 27. Actor Jaden Smith is 11.