By Joe Contreras, Latin Life Denver Media

One by one they stepped up to the stage at Denver’s Dazzle jazz club. For more than an hour the people who knew and loved Purnell Steen talked about the influence he had on their lives and in his beloved Five Points neighborhood in Denver. He is remembered as “A man who loved music and who loved people”.

“I can’t believe he’s gone” said Andrew Hudson, “I just saw him performing on this very stage not even a month ago.” Pianist Purnell Steen, died on November 18 at age 84 after injuring himself in a fall. “We would spend hours talking on the phone about life and music” said several others in the sold out music venue.

Another said, “I thought he was not authentic. I thought, nobody can be this genuinely nice and gentle, but he was. He truly like and cared about people.”

Several talked about the pride he had in his Five Points neighborhood and how he fought for community issues. However, Purnell Steens influence reached far beyond his neighborhood. For more than 30 years Steen regularly taught and performed jazz in several of Denver’s sister cities around the world playing with just about anybody who was anybody.

Then it was time for the Five Points Jazz Ambassadors to take the stage minus their leader, their mentor and their maestro. Each one played every note from the bottom of their broken hearts, pouring out a series of soul filled renditions of various Christmas songs.

The memorial card that was handed out to everyone in attendance at Dazzle showed the deep sadness and loss Purnell’s death has brought to not just Denver but the entire world of music.

The evening ended with a candlelight tribute to Purnell Steen. All in attendance waved their small candles in remembrance to the light Purnell Steen had brought into the world.

Below is the tribute published by the Five Points Jazz Ambassadors