I am sad to report that Color Blind James ( Chuck Cuminale) has passed away of an apparent heart attack on tuesday morning. He was 49. Chuck has been gaining national and international notariety as a song writer and performer along with his band The Color Blind James Experience. My brother Gary has been with Chuck off and on over the years as a musical cohort from their days in Oswego , NY as members of the continually changing Water Street Boys, Color Blind James Trio, The CBJ Rock and Roll Trio of which there were as many 7 members, CBJ and The White Caps and fianlly The Color Blind James Experience. Chuck's music fused many styles from pure folk to jazz influenced rock and roll. Chuck was a brilliant writer and always aware of the cadence of his words using the rhythym of the words to often set the rhytym of the song.

Always an admirer of Chucks I wasn't as close as I'd like to have been. He would be by my Moms house usually once a year and we'd have a few minutes to catch up on families and kids. Then he'd be off to a job some place. Chuck was a great writer a good musician and a good man.