Chicago bassist John Bany
 

This was posted to facebook by bassist Hans Sturm:

"For over 40 years John has been one of the heavy Chicago bass cats, supporting the young ones the entire time. Played in the day with Goodman, Venuti, Deems. Lost his bass to a crushing incident at a jam - couldn't afford insurance. For those who have - he could use a helping hand."

Here are a couple of articles from the local papers:

Examiner article

Chicago Sun-Times article

Anyone wanting to help John with some $$, but unable to attend one of the benefits can PM me for his mailing address.

I thought i'd add. I attend the Chicago School of Violin Making in Skokie where John lives. We are working on his bass right now. The top is back in 1 piece, and the top of the bass bar and the sound post have been patched. i have pics on my blog at http://gregbtracy.tumblr.com/
John bought a bass in the meantime but we're doing this for free to teach students about major repairs.