Concert honors Frank Withey

Withey, who was bipolar, died in 2006 at age 51 from an apparent drug overdose, either accidental or intentional, friends said. But they add that the circumstances of his death are immaterial; what matters is the musical legacy Withey left behind.

Withey’s friends are honoring him with the Fourth Annual Frank Withey Memorial Scholarship Foundation concert next Saturday from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at The Shaw’s Center in Brockton, featuring musicians who knew Withey, played with him, or were his students. In addition to teaching privately, many times for free, Withey taught composition at the Berklee College of Music.

“He touched so many lives, he knew everyone in music, and they knew and loved him,’’ said Brockton native Stephen Stathos, a longtime friend and owner of Freda’s restaurant in West Bridgewater. Withey used to play at Monday night jazz jams at Freda’s, and on the first Thursday of each month, “aging rockers,’’ a group Stathos includes himself in, still gather to play for free. “He was a genuine virtuoso on the guitar, there was no one like him.’’

The concert benefits the scholarship fund, and the organizers expect to dole out at least one $500 scholarship to a student in the greater Plymouth area this year, Stathos said.

Stathos and many others, like fellow concert organizer Stanley Capernaros, knew Withey even before he became a member of the popular band Pledge. Capernaros heard Withey play as a 13-year-old with a bunch of other kids.

“Frank would play Led Zeppelin and Yes and you’d close your eyes and swear you were listening to Led Zeppelin and Yes,’’ Capernaros said, adding with a laugh, “until they did the vocals. Remember, they were 13-year-old boys.’’

Withey would and could play with anyone, Capernaros said, “bluegrass, jazz, the blues, anything. He was just brilliant.’’

The concert Saturday features many of his students, including those in The Tuesday Night Jazz Band, a group of 13- to 17-year-old musicians from the Plymouth, Plympton, Carver and Middleborough area. Also playing will be Larry Harvey - who was in Pledge with Withey years ago - the Billy Sciore Band (Sciore is another organizer of the event), and the Peter Skaltsis Band. In an interesting musical pairing that swings from the high to the low of the age bracket, 85-year-old Louis Pelaggi will play with George Capernaros, 15.

And all of it honors the man and the musician that many miss terribly, Stathos said.

“He was the type of guy who’d play with anyone and make them a better musician,’’ Stathos said. “He’d even play with me, and I’m a hack musician. He was just a great guy.’’

Tickets to the event are $25 and are available at Freda’s restaurant, 105 Copeland St., West Bridgewater, by calling 508-583-8217, and at the door.

A FATHER’S FIGHT FOR HIS SONS: “A Father’s Fight,’’ a documentary about Mark Chauppetta of Brockton, has its premiere Friday at The Shaw’s Center, 1 Lexington St., Brockton at 7:30 p.m. Chauppetta, the father of twins with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, entered a mixed martial arts competition last summer to increase awareness of the disease and raise research money. Chauppetta won that Aug. 1 fight, and the documentary is about his training, the fight itself, and the light he is shining on the disease on behalf of his sons.

Donation requests are $30 per person and may be made by visiting www.afathersfight.net.

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Scott MacFarland (inset) of Quincy has been named director of marketing and strategic communication at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy. MacFarland is a 1987 graduate of the college, and most recently was president of MacFarland Media Partners, a Florida-based digital marketing agency.

Lori E. Hein of Easton wrote an original contribution that was published in “The Ultimate Bird Lover: Stories and Advice on Our Feathered Friends at Home and in the Wild,’’ published by Health Communications. Hein’s contribution was “The Universal Language of Pigeon,’’ which is about pigeons helping a globetrotting family connect with people all over the world.

Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at Kandarian@globe.com.