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Yesterday the office of the Cook County medical examiner confirmed that it was indeed Malachi Ritscher who committed suicide last Friday. He was 52.
This Sunday, November 12, Elastic will host a memorial for Ritscher from 5 to 8 PM. Saxophonist Dave Rempis, who is co-organizing the event, writes: "Malachi left many people behind who will greatly miss him, his sense of humor, his fierce individualism, and his selfless efforts in documenting the music for so many years. He was truly a unique and passionate person, who followed his beliefs unflinchingly up until the end. If you have anything that you'd like to bring (photos, etc.) that has some relevance to Malachi, please do. We'd like to display some of these items for everyone to share in. And please pass this information on to others who knew Malachi. There are many out there who will greatly miss his presence."
Afterwards, I went for dinner with a small group of friends to one of Malachi's favorite places for pizza in Chicago, Spacca Napoli. I kept meaning to take Malachi up on his invitation to have dinner there with him, but to my great regret, I never made the time (in time). We left an empty chair at the table in his memory.
We then went to hear some music at the Hungry Brain, where a piece of art created by Malachi hangs on the wall - appropriately, near the stage. The piece can be seen in the second-to-last photo here:
http://www.savagesound.com/gallery33.htm