By Mark Campbell

Every week for more than two decades, Ian Lamont McLachlan (MA’99) sat down behind a microphone at CKDU radio and invited listeners to join him on a 90-minute journey to The Dark End of the Street.

“That show was a muse for him,” says long-time friend John Brophy. “It was a forum in which to share his passion for jazz, blues, world music and the spoken word.”

Anyone who knew McLachlan knew his zeal for the music extended far beyond his radio show.  He was an active volunteer with both Jazz East and the Halifax Jazz Festival, helping to stage concerts and raise the profile of the genre. He also sought out unpaid gigs at local coffee houses, just to play guitar and introduce people to the music of his idols, such as Johnny Smith.

“While he held a wide range of interests, jazz is a key one that I associate him with,” explains Brophy. “It’s less conventional, it’s sophisticated and intellectual in style, it has a maturity to it, and you could say the same things about him.”

McLachlan passed away in November 2013 after a courageous battle with cancer. Seeking to memorialize his friend, and support a key interest of McLachlan’s, Brophy established the Ian Lamont McLachlan Jazz Scholarship at Dalhousie University. The endowment will provide financial support to second-year students attending the Fountain School of Performing Arts who demonstrate considerable artistic potential or achievement as a jazz musician.

“There are scholarships that assist students in the sciences and business, and they are all vital. But this is the first jazz scholarship at the school, so it’s nice to fill a gap and to help support and perpetuate the music that Ian loved.”

He continues: “It’s also a kind of recognition of Dalhousie. The university’s radio station provided him with a platform from which to share this music, which is vital because it isn’t as mainstream as pop or rap. This is also a thank you for that.”

Brophy thinks McLachlan would be delighted to know that, in some way, he’s helping to foster a new generation of jazz artists and keeping the music alive. As for inspiring others to do something similar, Brophy says only that people should follow their own hearts, just as McLachlan did.

“Any gift or donation you make to Dalhousie should be your own choice, free of any influence. Stand back, evaluate the opportunities and make an independent decision. That would be in keeping with Ian’s spirit.”