SUN CITY – In 2007, after nearly a 30-year hiatus from his tenor sax, Frank Ardito of N. 30 picked up his instrument to get back into the swing of things. He bought a new case and had his sax reconditioned and started performing again and loved every minute of it. Then doctors diagnosed Ardito with an aggressive form of stomach cancer, and once again, he had to put down his music.
Stomach cancer put a quick stop to Frank Ardito's return to the sax. But after its successful removal, Ardito went on to entertain audiences regularly. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
“That put kind of a kibosh on playing for a while,” Ardito said.
But stomach cancer didn’t stop Ardito from pursuing his passion for both living and playing the tenor sax permanently and resuming his long-ago role as a part-time musician for hire.
Acting as quickly as he could and as quickly as the doctors wanted, Ardito underwent surgery at Rush Medical Center. Doctors removed a significant percentage of Ardito’s stomach to remove the cancer.
“Through the grace of God and the prayers of many friends and the good work of the doctors there, they removed all the cancer in my system, and I was able to start functioning again,” Ardito said, then added a statement that summed up his conviction to get back behind his sax: “I kept insisting from the time I first sat down with this team of doctors, I told them ‘Listen, I’ve got a couple of jobs that are scheduled, so you’ve got to get me out of here as quickly as possible.’ I tried to keep my mind off the cancer.”
Now fully recovered, Ardito’s been back on his feet since just two months after his surgery in ‘08, playing frequently with the John Weber Trio at the Walleye Grill. Residents may see him next from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Friday, September 24.
Music style: Jazz
When: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., Friday, September 24
Where: Walleye Grill, located in Prairie Lodge
August of 2008 was the first time Ardito performed publicly after almost three decades. Although Ardito was a part-time musician all those years ago, he said performing publicly after his return “…was very intimidating to me. I was an older player now. But I worked my way through it and continued to play at these jams.”
Since 2008, Ardito has appeared several times with the John Weber Trio (whom he praises greatly for their excellent quality) at the Walleye Grill, which is considering hiring Ardito and the John Weber Trio to play on a regular basis.
“If I played once a month, that would be wonderful,” Ardito said. “It would keep me in the mix and keep me growing musically.”
Ardito describes his jazz as an older, recognizable style of the jazz standards of the past and said that audiences at the Walleye Grill have responded favorably to his sound along with the John Weber Trio.
“I really like the jazz of ballads of the past,” Aridto said, providing examples such as Body and Soul, My Funny Valentine, and Misty.
“I put a strong mix of those kinds of songs into our performance,” Ardito said. “And I think people enjoy those.”
Ardito said he’s proud to play with the John Weber Trio, who recently reordered a record because they’re younger and excellent jazz musicians.
“That makes me feel good,” said Ardito.
Ardito credits his wife for taking care of him through his bout with cancer and other prior heart conditions and said that he has a very supportive family.
Today, free of cancer, Ardito’s health is good and perhaps even better, with his exercise and general conditioning, than it was before he was diagnosed with cancer. Beyond his music, Ardito works with Mended Hearts, a national support group for people with cardiac disease.
“I try not to think of myself by age or what surgeries I’ve had,” said Ardito. “When I think about my stomach surgery, it’s only in the sense of gratitude. I’m always giving thanks for the fact that I’m free of cancer. And I also give thanks that I’m able to revisit an early passion in my life. When I use the word blessed, I don’t use that loosely. I really do feel blessed.”
