On the demise of AMTSJ:

Well, your email was the first I’d heard of this development. I’ve since read the sad news online, and, at this point, can only say that I’m shocked.

You can read the whole thing here

I talked to a few musicians last night who always played for AMTSJ. They found out about the death of the organization through the newspaper. They had no clue this was possible, and the only recently finished up with Flower Drum Song. I heard one player talking, and he sounded so fearful of what he would do to make up for all that he lost. And he was fairly new to the organization. I feel especially for those who always play and have been doing so for a much longer period of time.