The late Tony Reedus had a lot of friends and a lot of fans in a lot of cities. On Sunday, those in Reedus' hometown of Memphis will get a chance to remember and pay musical respects during a tribute and benefit concert for the jazz drummer at Neil's Bar & Grille in Midtown.

Tony Reedus, who died last year at 49, was ''a great person and great musician,'' said tribute organizer Mike Kelley. With a swinging dance feel, Reedus was one of the leading percussionists in modern jazz.

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"Tony was really loved," says Mike Kelley, longtime Memphis jazz promoter and one of the event's organizers. "We just wanted to do something here to honor him."

Reedus died suddenly last fall at age 49, after suffering a pulmonary embolism, while traveling back from a tour of Europe. He left behind his wife, Jenise Grice-Reedus, and a young daughter, Cameron. The concert will serve as a benefit for the Cameron Reedus Scholarship Fund.

While Reedus' journey began in Memphis where he was born, as the son of an Air Force sergeant, he grew up in locales as far flung as California, Maine and Bermuda. The Reedus family eventually returned to the Bluff City, where he began playing drums as a teen. Music was in his blood: His uncle, James Williams, was a member of the Jazz Messengers, and he got his earliest exposure playing at Eastern Star Missionary Baptist Church.

After graduating from Fairley High School, he enrolled at Memphis State University, and began playing with a who's who of local jazz including longtime friend and collaborator, pianist Mulgrew Miller. Reedus' career got a jump-start in 1981 when he caught the eye of legendary trumpeter Woody Shaw.

"Tony was playing a gig at Blues Alley and Woody Shaw just happened to be in town," says Kelley. "He went down there and heard him and asked him if he would join his group. Tony thought he was kidding."

Shaw was serious, and took Reedus on the road and into the studio -- the drummer appears on Shaw's albums United from 1981 and Master of the Art from 1983 -- helping launch him onto the national stage.

Known for his swinging dance feel and animated playing style, Reedus established himself as one of the leading percussionists in modern jazz, going on to work with numerous artists over the years including trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, saxophonist Benny Golson, and guitarist Dave Stryker.

As a bandleader, Reedus would record four albums of his own, including 1989's widely hailed Incognito.

Reedus was working with organist and pianist Mike LeDonne, having just completed a performance in Bologna, Italy, when he fell ill at New York's LaGuardia Airport last November. Reedus was living in New Jersey with his family at the time of his death.

Fellow musicians have already staged a trio of Reedus tribute concerts earlier this year in New York and Boston. For Kelley, Sunday's show will be a sad, but poignant farewell for a "local boy done good."

"He was just 49 years old, and it was so sudden, it took all of us by surprise," says Kelley. "We wanted to do the show a while back, but we wanted Tony's wife, Jenise, to be here and she wasn't able to come until the summer because their daughter is in school. But she's going to be at Neil's to see the celebration."

Kelley also notes that as part of the Reedus remembrance, on Sunday morning at 10 WUMR 91.7 FM (wumr.memphis.edu) deejay Malvin Massey will conduct a live interview with Reedus' friends and colleagues including Renardo Ward, Johnny Yancey, Sal Crocker, and Dennis Adams who will share memories and music of the drummer.

"Tony's friends -- all of us -- really just wanted a chance to say goodbye," says Kelley, "and remember a great person and great musician."

In Memory of Anthony ''Tony'' Reedus: A Musical Celebration & Benefit Concert

Featuring Sal Crocker, Herman Green, John Birdsong, Gerard Harris, Johnny Yancey, Doug Garrison, Jim Spake, the Sanctuary Jazz Orchestra, the Strictly Jazz Quartet, and other special guests. At 7 p.m. Sunday at Neil's Bar & Grille, 1835 Madison Ave. Admission is $10 and benefits the Cameron Reedus Scholarship Fund.