Jazz in Chicago

[Alexander Hawkins]

I thought I'd seen a thread on this in the past, but on doing a search, I couldn't turn anything up - so apologies if I'm duplicating anything.

I just wondered whether anyone knew of any good gigs in Chicago towards the end of this month? I'll be there from around the 25th-31st, and was curious!

p.s. I did see that at the Chicago Symphony they have Hank Jones trio + Clark Terry + Joe Lovano + Ernestine Anderson that week!

[Larry Kart]

Scott Hamilton is at the Jazz Showcase that week, the Denny Zeitlin Trio (with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson) comes in 5/1-6. Otherwise check out the listings in the Chicago Reader, available online, though I recall that they only go out a week from the current date.

In an avant-garde vein, you might find these gigs interesting.

Wednesday - May 26

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* Rolldown w/ Jason Adasiewicz, Josh Berman, Keefe Jackson, Jason Roebke,

Frank Rosaly

9:30 PM at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western - 773-276-3600 ($5)

* Greg Ward & friends

9:30 PM at the Velvet Lounge, 21281/2 S. Indiana - 312-791-9050

* Jim Baker/Harris Eisenstadt/Kyle Hernandez

8 PM at the Hot House, 31 E. Balbo, 312-362-9707

Thursday - May 27

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* Daisy/Hatwich/Rempis/Rosaly Quartet

* Harris Eisenstadt Group w/ Tatsu Aoki, Keefe Jackson

9:30 PM at 3030 W. Cortland, 773-862-3616

Friday - May 28

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* Harris Eisenstadt Quartet w/ Jeb Bishop, Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Roebke

9 PM at Candlestick Maker, Chicago, IL, 9pm

* Triage - Dave Rempis, Jason Ajemian, Tim Daisy

11:30 PM at Hotti Biscotti, 3545 W. Fullerton (no cover)

Saturday - May 29

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* Harris Eisenstadt Quartet w/ Jeb Bishop, Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Roebke

10 PM at the Velvet Lounge, 21281/2 S. Indiana - 312-791-9050

Sunday - May 30

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* Josh Abrams/Josh Berman/Harris Eisenstadt/Dave Rempis

9:30 PM at the Hungry Brain, 2318 W. Belmont - 773-935-2118 (donation)

[Alexander Hawkins]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write that out – I’ll try to check some of it out!

[Alexander Hawkins]

Come to think of it, I don't know any of those names listed in the avant-garde vein: are there any you would recommend in particular?

Also, I think I saw that there's a jam session led by Ari Brown at a place called 'Green Dolphin Street' on Thursdays: does anyone know if this is the case, and whether it might be worth going along to?

Thanks!

[Larry Kart]

Red -- If I had to pick one from the list, I 'd try the 5/26 Empty Bottle gig. They're all very good players on a good day, and usually these informal groups (this is a new one to me) are put together with a fair amount of preparation. Adasiewicz is an interesting composer-vibes player in a kind of Al Francis vein, Josh Berman is a cornetist who might be described as having one foot in Don Cherry's camp and another in Ruby Braff's and/or Tony Fruscella's (if you can imagine that combo), Keefe Jackson plays mostly tenor and can be very good (I said something about him in the Eric Alexander thread in "Recommendations"), Jason Roebke is a good bass player, and Frank Rosaly is an excellent drummer. How spacey or straightahead the music will be on this night, I don't know; I've heard each of these guys do both in various groups.

My second choice would be the Hungry Brain gig, with some of the same players. Abrams is a good bass player, Rempis is an excellent alto/tenor saxophonist; don't know who Eisenstadt is. A factor might be locations/ambience. The Brain is further out from the downtown area but a comfortable neighborhood bar (about a third of a block east of the corner of Belmont and Western), a relaxed friendly place with good acoustics. The Empty Bottle, closer in, is an armpit-like rock joint/bar in not the greatest neighborhood -- parking nearby on Western Ave. (not sidestreets) is advised; spots on Western usually are easy to find. Neither place, as far as I know, is that accessible by public transportation; taxi cabs certainly will get you to both. Getting back I'd say that you probably could find a cab cruising by on Western fairly soon; at the Brain you'd probably have to call for one.

Can't vouch for Ari Brown at Green Dolphin Street, haven't heard him in some time, but that's a club that would be in the Chicago Reader listings.

Wednesday - May 26

********************************

* Rolldown w/ Jason Adasiewicz, Josh Berman, Keefe Jackson, Jason Roebke,

Frank Rosaly

9:30 PM at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western - 773-276-3600 ($5)

Sunday - May 30

********************************

* Josh Abrams/Josh Berman/Harris Eisenstadt/Dave Rempis

9:30 PM at the Hungry Brain, 2318 W. Belmont - 773-935-2118 (donation)

[jazzypaul]

Ditto to what Larry said about the Empty Bottle. I live in that Neighborhood (East Humboldt Park) and while it's getting better every day, it IS a sketchy neighborhood. The neighborhood that houses the Velvet Lounge can also be somewhat ugly, so use caution when getting to and from these joints. If you're going to be around the Empty Bottle, also know that there are a bevvy of killer jazz clubs in the area. Quenchers (Fullerton and Western) is a great spot to check out a lot of Chicago's young lions. The California Clipper (California and Augusta)is a joint that does jazz on most Fridays and Saturdays, and they favor organ groups. Phyllis' Musical Inn and The Smoke Daddy are right next door to each other on Division, and both split their time evenly between jazz and blues.

As for Ari Brown at Green Dolphin Street: Ari is awesome. Neighborhood is safe. Green Dolphin Street is a VERY expensive jazz club, however. I remember going in there one night to interview Christian McBride and getting a martini for the "friend" price of $7.50.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Apologies for the delay in thanking you for that help – I wasn’t able to get to a computer before actually travelling to Chicago.

In the end, I managed to catch the Clark Terry gig (and completely by chance bumped into him in the street the next morning as well!), which was fantastic, but due to time constraints didn’t get along to anything else. Joe Lovano was awesome as well, although Ernestine Anderson was a little disappointing (she stopped 'Falling in Love with Love' after a single chorus because she could find her notes...)

Anyway, I can’t wait to get back to Chicago to hear some music - I've never been before, and it's an absolutely fabulous city!