ORONO – Professional jazz singer, recording artist and University of Maine alumna Diane Linscott has established a scholarship fund for former UM music major and band member Jim Howe, who died last fall.

Linscott of Penobscot has organized a benefit concert in Howe’s memory at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19, in Minsky Recital Hall, Class of 1944 Hall, to raise funds for The Jim Howe ’69 Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will be managed by the University of Maine Foundation and will benefit future UM music students.

Linscott will perform with members of her quartet, several of whom also are alumni of UMaine, a concert of jazz standards from the Great American Songbook and selections from her recently released CD, “Once Upon a Summertime,” on which Howe played bass.

Admission is free with an opportunity to donate to the scholarship available at the door. Part of the proceeds from CD sales at the concert will go to the scholarship fund.

“All of us in the original quartet were graduates of the University of Maine and will be performing the concert in Jim’s memory – Gerry Wright, piano; Mike Bennett, drums; and I will be on vocals,” said Linscott, a 1960 UM graduate. “Mark Neuenschwander, my bassist in Florida who worked with Jim on my newest recording will be bassist for the evening.”

Howe lived in Hanover when he died at age 61 last October. He taught bass at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and ran the Sunday Jazz program at the Portsmouth, N.H., Press Room jazz club for many years. He was a regular bassist in Linscott’s quartet.

Recalling his “extraordinary musicianship” and “his joy and generous smile when he made music,” Linscott said she wants Howe’s legacy to live on through a scholarship.

“Jim Howe was a great bassist and representative of so many superb musicians who dedicate themselves to excellence,” Linscott said. “A scholarship in his name seemed a fitting tribute.”

Gifts in Howe’s name may be sent by mail to the University of Maine Foundation, 2 Alumni Place, Orono, ME 04469-5792 or by clicking on the “Online Giving” link through the foundation’s secure Web site www.umainefoundation.org.

Linscott asks that donors indicate their gifts are for The Jim Howe ’69 Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Gifts received by Friday, July 11, will be recognized at the benefit concert.

Diane Linscott, vocalist, sculptor and visual artist, has served as a trustee of the UM Foundation, on the University of Maine Development Council, on the advisory board for the Maine Center for the Arts and as volunteer for many organizations in Maine. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UM, did postgraduate study in experimental psychology and balanced a performance schedule with 10 years of liberal studies, including music, at UMaine.

Gerry Wright, pianist, of Winslow graduated from UM with a bachelor’s degree in music education and Thomas College with a bachelor’s degree in business education. He taught choral music in Oakland for 27 years and now teaches at MCI in Pittsfield where he is choral music instructor. He also plays for the Al Corey Band in Waterville and is the leader of the Gerry Wright Trio.

Mark Neuenschwander of Tampa Bay, Fla., has performed in a variety of musical settings around the world with the Fifth Dimension, Herb Alpert, Diane Schuur and Chick Corea, and is a first-call bassist for many major artists appearing in the Sarasota area. He is a faculty member in the music department at the University of South Florida and has worked with Linscott in Florida for the past 10 winter seasons.

Percussionist Mike Bennett of Southwest Harbor, an adjunct faculty member at the College of the Atlantic, earned a music education degree at UM in 1993. He has been a first-call drummer for many jazz musicians who have played in Maine such as Larry Coryell, Sheila Jordan, Buddy DeFranco, Greg Abate and Anita O’Day. He was a member of the world music group The Beatroots.