Rick and Jody Prunty have a ten year old daughter, sophie, who is a special child born with an extremely rare disorder called Hereditary Motor-Sensory Neuropathy Tye II. this "orphan disease" ocurs in approximately one in a million births.

Born with club feet (which have since been corrected), she displays large and fine motor skill delays. One of the unique symptoms of this disease is that Sophie lacks peripheral feelings. She is oblivious to pain caused to her body from the outside. If she cuts herself or pokes her eye, she has no pain. In addition, Sophie does not walk, must eat intravenously and is prone to epileptic seizures. Several gastro-intestinal tubes allow Sophie to eliminate waste and relieve pressure. While Sophie is not able to talk, she communicates with the help of sign language and a computerized voice simulator. Sophie is regarded as a medically complex and fragile child. Of course, she doesn't care about all that.

Today she still enjoys work in her custom made playroom and participates in various therapies including hippotherapy (horseback riding). Sophie loves to read and be read to. She also enjoys music, movies and working on her touch-screen computer. She is a very happy, busy little girl who brings joy, energy and inspiration to may lives.

The One In A Million Kid Fund
This fund was established to help Sophie's family pay for the expenses necessary to keep Sophie as happy and healthy as possible. On average, Sophie spends about 3 months out of the year in the hospital. In addition, the family incurs myriad expenses including in home nursing care, medications, diapers and hygiene supplies, transportation, computerized voice simulator, physical therapy, occupational therapy and family counseling and training.

With the help of numerous medical professionals, counselors, educators and volunteers, the Prunty's continue to strive to build the kind of life that they want for Sophie and themselves. The "One In A Million Kid" fund helps address their financial concerns.

For more information, visit Sophies website at: www.oneinamillionkid.com

Born in Kent, England, Jon Cleary began playing guitar at age five, and started his first band at 15. Raised on blues, jazz, and soul records, his love of blues and jazz in particular took him across the ocean to New Orleans after he graduated from art school.

Upon arriving in the Crescent City, Cleary started hanging out at one of the city's most storied venues -- the Maple Leaf Club. The bar's owner offered him a job painting the Maple Leaf's exterior; free admission and beer were Cleary's wages. He soaked up the bar's atmosphere, realizing that blues piano was his calling; the house he lived in had a piano, on which he spent hours practicing each day. After gaining resounding respect among local musicians, he gigged as a sideman and bandleader throughout the '80s. In 1994, Jon formed his current ensemble, the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

Dubbed "the ninth wonder of the world" by Bonnie Raitt, Cleary is a triple threat - with a salty-sweet voice, masterful piano skills, and a knack for stacking infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics. While Cleary is the prime motivator throughout, his Absolute Monster Gentlemen band does their fair share of the work to bring Cleary's musical vision to life. "They work together very powerfully," Cleary says emphatically. "There's a very high standard of technical musicianship, but the key thing is that they also play with a lot of soul and spirit. These guys dig in and play with a lot of passion, and I think it's that intangible element that seems to successfully move audiences everywhere we play".

Cleary was recently featured in Martin Scorcese's critically acclaimed seven-part PBS Blues series "The Blues." The series' sixth film, "Red, White, and Blues" catches Cleary performing with Van Morrison, Tom Jones and Jeff Beck. Cleary's impressive past credits include work with Taj Mahal, B.B. King, and Bonnie Raitt-whom he continues to tour and record with-but, it's with the Gentlemen that his triple-threat flame burns brightest.