Louis Armstrong Photo by Eddie Adams to Be Auctioned for Charity

Press release
Source: Jazz Promo Services

Alyssa Adams, wife of Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Eddie Adams, has made a rare giclee print of a photograph taken by Eddie of Louis Armstrong in 1970 available for auction with the proceeds to benefit the ALS Association's Connecticut Chapter.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is better known as Lou Gehrig's disease and May is ALS Awareness Month.

The image to be auctioned depicts Armstrong in his dressing room before a comeback appearance in Las Vegas. Satchmo hadn't played his horn for two years due to illness and the poignant image portrays Armstrong shortly before taking the stage. Eddie Adams passed away from ALS on September 19, 2004.

The silent auction is being conducted through the ALS Association's Connecticut Chapter's website at www.alsact.org/alsact/satchmo and runs through May 31, 2005.

About ALS:

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With all voluntary muscle action affected, patients in the later stages of the disease become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected. The average prognosis for ALS patients is 2 to 5 years from diagnosis. For more information on ALS and The ALS Association CT Chapter, visit: www.alsact.org.

For more information about photographer Eddie Adams, visit: www.eddieadamsworkshop.com.

For more information about Louis Armstrong, visit: www.satchmo.net.