Sweet Blues Northwest

James "Curley" Cooke, master gardener?

Yes, in his own way, which is why the master blues guitarist stirs an improbable link in my mind to King County pinching pennies on extension programs.

Skills, traditions and values are conveyed across generations by people who are not only experts, but also share their passion for what they do.

County extension, a land-grant role of Washington State University, provides farmers with current information and best practices. The Master Gardener program connects city dwellers to the land, while 4-H clubs give young people a wider window on their natural environment.

County elimination of extension services is a false economy for all county residents, not just the farmers and growers who help feed the rest of us.

Cooke applies the same zeal and experience to reaching tough kids and difficult students through Pacific Northwest Blues in the Schools, which he founded and guides, with generous help from other musicians and benefactors.

Cooke is a 40-year veteran of the music industry, and an original member of The Steve Miller Band. More than a dozen years ago, he was inspired by a blues-in-the-schools program in Charleston, S.C., and brought his vision to Seattle.

He successfully launched the program in 1998 with two sponsors, Starbucks and Key Bank of Washington. They are still with him, along with two dozen other blues patrons.

Cooke's magic with the students has a rhythm of its own. After-school sessions run for 12 weeks or so. Students receive a taste of the blues with an opening concert, then learn the instruments and lyrics for the songs they will perform. With patient instruction, the tunes and vocals become the students' own.

Focus, discipline, rigor, teamwork, applause. Some or all are missing in their young lives. I've seen the glorious transformation on stage at Echo Glen Children's Center, the state juvenile-corrections facility at Snoqualmie.

Cooke's vision and professional execution win rave reviews from principals and school administrators around Puget Sound. He has lots of fans and friends.

A few hundred of them packed Immanuel Presbyterian Church two weeks ago in Tacoma for Pastor Dave Brown's Blues Vespers, a regular third-Sunday-of-the-month worship service. That evening, Brown's prayers and reflections interspersed with the blues performed by Cooke and current bandmates.

The talent nestled in front of the sanctuary was a stellar assembly: Paul Green of Cooke 'n' Green; Rod Cook of Double Cookin' and Marty Vadalabene and Rob Moitoza from Blues to Burn. Also sitting in were Doug Skoog and Mark Riley.

Cooke and Green have been featured at Bad Albert's Tap & Grill in Ballard for more than a decade, but the duo and Cooke's performing are taking a break as he undergoes chemotherapy for lung cancer. He told me this week the disease has spread to his liver.

Cooke said the treatment has taken the skin off his hands, and with it the calluses from four decades of performing. By the third song the pain is intense, he said.

Undaunted, he will join his musician friends playing and toasting his speedy recovery Sunday at The Spar, in Tacoma's Old Town. Starting time is 3 p.m.

Cooke developed his talents and shares his gift. Skills, traditions and values nurtured across generations. A master gardener indeed.

Lance Dickie's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is ldickie@seattletimes.com