Rippingtons fame. He was in Cambodia visiting his partner, cellist Sarah O’Brien, who also lived in Altadena.

After confirming that they had lost everything, Taylor, 65, scrambling to get a flight back home, still found time to volunteer to teach a free drum master class in Siem Reap, where he jammed with students. He also donated food to a local pagoda that shelters abandoned cats.

Taylor, who has played in more than 400 albums, movies and TV shows, shrugs off the “why” of this. It’s just what musicians do: find the music in and through and over the tough stuff.

A local band will return the favor on Monday. The neighborhood jazz bar Club 1881, where Taylor plays most Fridays, is holding a benefit concert for him and other artists impacted by the wildfires. Included in this number are Gail and Judah Casburn, owners of the club; bartender Owen Casburn; pianist Quinn Johnson; saxophonist Chuck Manning; and artist Chloe Zofia.

Club 1881, Pasadena’s oldest continuously running cocktail bar, will hold the benefit from 6 p.m. to midnight Monday at the club located at 1881 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena. Admission is $25 cash cover at the door and donations will be accepted via Zelle. Food will be available for purchase.

Drummers Jimmy Branly and Joel Taylor, pianist Quinn Johnson, saxophonist Chuck Manning, and bassist Mike Gurrola will head the jazz entertainment on Monday. Special guests, including many jazz stars who have performed at the venue over the years, will also take the stage.

“This is an amazing place to work, with an awesome group of locals and regulars who come to hear some of the greatest jazz musicians play live,” said Owen Casburn, 33, who lost the Marengo Avenue home he shared with his partner, Chloe Zofia, 34, managing editor and lead graphic designer for MERDE magazine.

The two helped their landlady evacuate and rescue her cat before they drove away the night of Jan. 7.

“It was like Mordor, with embers flying, we were driving and had to avoid a tree that fell and it was on fire,” Casburn said. “I didn’t sleep well for weeks.”

Owen Casburn and his older brother Gareth were born and raised in Altadena, both graduating from Blair High School and returning after college to pick up life in their hometown, frequenting Fair Oaks Burger, Little Red Hen, Ace Smoke Shop, Everest Burgers and All-Star Liquor.

Zofia said, “It seemed like the whole sky was smoky and orange within 15 minutes of first hearing about a spark. We knew we had to move fast.”

“The streets were apocalyptic,” she said. “People panicked, cars driving in every direction, sirens and debris littering the roads from the hurricane-force winds. The wind had even pushed down the stop sign on Mariposa.”

The days since have been rough.

“In a matter of hours, everything we worked so hard to build in the last decade together, our home, art, collective family heirlooms, photos, all of our belongings and the memories they held, was reduced to ashes,” Zofia said. “All we have left are our cars and each other.”

“Salt Lines,” a series of photo prints Zofia produced after the fire, was included in the exhibition “One Hundred Percent,” organized by the curator of The Hammer Museum.

“There’s so much history and creative energy woven into the Altadena and Pasadena arts scene,” she added. “Altadena alone was a treasure trove of artists, writers, and musicians.”

Club 1881 is another such gem. The Casburns bought and renovated the 1933 establishment eight years ago, building up what was once a dive bar into a jazz bar where music lovers can hang with Grammy winners for a $10 cover charge.

“The 1881 gets some extra cool cats passing through too, thanks in large part to the Altadena local who helped found our Friday Night Jazz series, Joel Taylor,” Zofia said. “His network of musicians is incredible. I’ve seen Sarah Drums perform at the 1881, Maxayn Lewis, Thundercat’s keyboardist Dennis Hamm, Clint Eastwood’s son Kyle, Logan Kane, just tons of baddies.”

Customers come from as far as Santa Barbara, Venice Beach, the San Fernando Valley and downtown L.A.

Hosting musical artists in a friendly neighborhood joint was what Judah and Gail Casburn wanted when they took over the bar in 2017. Gail, 61, is an Illinois native who came to California in 1982. She met Judah, a Yorkshire-born expat 19 years her senior, at a Pasadena pub.

They married on St. Patrick’s Day 36 years ago, choosing Altadena for their family because it was the best combination of country and city. They also own the Altadena Ale & Wine House on North Fair Oaks Avenue, which survived the fire and reopens today.

Gail also teaches computer science at Pasadena City College and leads the family’s philanthropies. They distributed food and supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic and donated to Altadena schools and individuals, as well as the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team and the Altadena Rotary Club.

In 2023, the Altadena Chamber of Commerce awarded them Business of the Year. And even as they grapple with loss, the Casburns have sponsored numerous community events at club, raising funds and providing 200 solar-powered generators and 200 heaters for fire victims.

“We’re not going to give up easily,” Owen Casburn said. “We’re going to stick through it.”

Taylor, who has played pretty much every day since the fires, chose to rent a place in Long Beach to avoid taking a spot away from other survivors. His losses, totaling about $150,000 in instruments and recording equipment, include at least 10 drum sets, a grand piano, more than 100 cymbals and vintage snare drums made in the 1920s.

But he has his cat Frankie, his partner and her two children, and he is thankful gigs keep him busy. He said Altadena would never be the same, but its village of artists could build it back.

“I don’t need much,” Taylor said. “Music is what I live for, just the music and the playing with fellow musicians. I’ll be okay.”