Aftermath

Aftermath

Jack Siegel
Chicago, Cubs

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In one sense, a comparison between the aftermath of 9/11 and the Cubs' World Series Victory is inappropriate.  I, however, was in New York City shortly after 9/11.  The level  of intensity I felt from those those around me at Ground Zero is similar to the the level of intensity that Chicogians are experiencing from the World Series victory.  We see sports victory celebrations four or five times a year, but nothing I've ever seen rivals what is going on in Chicago.  This is a big deal.

 

 

Paquito

Paquito

Jack Siegel
Jazz, Musicians, Performance

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Friday night saw an exciting take on Latin jazz come to the Logan Center.  Fourteen-time Grammy award winning Paquito D' Rivera brought his quintet to the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts for an evening of jazz that featured work from his 2014 album, Jazz Meets the Classics.  On the bandstand were Diego Urcola (trumpet and valve trombone), Alex Brown (piano), Oscar Stagnaro (electric six-string bass), and Mark Walker (drums).  Sitting in as a guest from Alejo Poveda on congas.

108

108

Jack Siegel
Festivals, Performance, Chicago

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Pick your poison, so to speak.  I decided early on that I wanted the image depicted in the cover photograph, but that presents a problem.  A photographer's worst nightmare is being relegated to a fixed position.  I always say that when photographing in a club or concert hall.  By picking this location, I did not have the opportunity to photograph the rally in Grant Park, the parade stepping off at Wrigley Field, or the chaos at the AMTRAK station.  Only a media outlet like the Chicago Tribune has the number of photographers to cover all the bases, so to speak.

Apple

Apple

Jack Siegel
Architecture, Chicago, Urban Landscapes

[Click to enlarge the photograph and read the accompanying commentary]

The new Apple store under construction on Michigan Avenue just south of the Tribune Tower.  The early morning serenity is deceiving.  As this photograph was being made, some 5,000,000 people were descending on downtown for the Chicago Cubs' victory celebration.

HICAG

HICAG

Jack Siegel
Architecture, Urban Landscapes

[Click on photograph for commentary and additional photographs]

The Chicago Theatre is one of the most photographed buildings in Chicago, but most of the photographs feature the vertical script that spells out Chicago on the 6-story sign attached to the building.  Built in 1921, the theatre was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. What many photographers miss is the archway above the marquee, with its elaborate carvings.

Indispensable

Indispensable

Jack Siegel
Festivals, Jazz, Musicians, Performance

One of the highlights of this year's Hyde Park Jazz Festival was the opportunity to see and hear the great jazz trumpeter, Tom Harrell, together with TRIP, which also features saxophonist Mark Turner.  A tight unit that plays gorgeous music.  Still lots of humidty in the air, but the darkness and dark greenish-yellow hues portend Fall.

Duet

Duet

Jack Siegel

By Day Four, I am running on empty.  It's not the time put in at the festival or the gyrations necessary to capture some decent images despite the people paid to hassle photographers.  It also the late night and early morning image processing.  So I come with low expectations, hoping I can snag one or two decent images and hear some great jazz.

Avreeayl

Avreeayl

Jack Siegel
Jazz, Musicians, Performance

The Good News from the Chicago Jazz Festival:  Legendary drummer, percussionist, and nice guy Avreeayl Ra was back in the saddle tonight, after having been jumped and then beaten by a group of thugs as he walked to the parking lot from Chicago's Green Mill Jazz Club a couple of weeks back.  From my seats, he looked fully recovered, but my photographs reveal some purple bruising around his left eye. He was in excellent form and spirits.

Bley

Bley

Jack Siegel
Jazz, Musicians, Performance

Photographically, the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park is a hot mess.  I didn't have a media pass, so I positioned myself just to the right of the media pit in the second row on the aisle, which gave me a relatively unobstructed view.  What those in the pit learned very quickly is that the video screen behind the stage creates all sorts of problems. 

Taj

Taj

Jack Siegel
Musicians, Performance

Taj, accompanied by Bill Rich on bass and Kester Smith on drums, came out at the appointed time, proceeding to put on a terrific show for 100+ minutes.  He still has chops, with a voice that is as distinctive and strong as ever.  No question on the guitar.  During the performance, he played a hollow-body guitar that generated incredible reverb, a National steel guitar, and an acoustic guitar.  For the encore, he stepped over to an electric piano.  I was disappointed that he didn't pick up the banjo or the ukulele.

Strings

Strings

Jack Siegel
Jazz, Musicians

Tonight we have Here and Now, a trio compromised of Tomeka Reid on cello, Mazz Swift on violin, and Sylvia Bolognesi on bass.  When I read list of instruments, I can only wonder whether this will sound like a Hayden string piece. 

Sharp

Sharp

Jack Siegel
Musicians, Performance

"What a lonesome feeling when you are by yourself."  This well-dressed gentleman was certainly by himself tonight, playing very softly while many people passed by on Chicago's river walk, paying no attention to him.

Up

Up

Jack Siegel
Chicago, Urban Landscapes, Architecture

While we waited for the return water taxi, we spent some time in Ping Tom Memorial Park.  The willows lining the river have grown over the years that we have lived in Chicago.

The visual treat in this neighborhood is the Amtrak vertical life bridge that was built in 1915 (101 years old).  It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad.  It doesn't look like it has been painted since then.  I had never seen it in the "up" position, but on this trip, I watched it go upwards after a southbound Amtrak train rolled over it.  It works just like an elevator.  

Rosebud

Rosebud

Jack Siegel
Architecture, Urban Landscapes

Most Chicagoans are familiar with the Lyric Opera, but the so-called Lyric Opera House is really the Civic Opera House designed by  architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, which was also responsible for the design of the Merchandise Mart, the old Post Office, the Wrigley building, the Shedd Aquarium, and Union Station.

Window

Window

Jack Siegel
Chicago, Windows

My signature slogan "tomorrow's garage sale today," came to mind when I came upon this window in Chicago's Chinatown.  This particular dealer is on Wentworth Avenue, which is the main drag in this concentrated community.  I hadn't been down to Chinatown in a few years.  The restaurants appear to be multiplying, but there seemed to be a lot of vacant store fronts.

Turquoise

Turquoise

Jack Siegel
Architecture, Urban Landscapes

Among everyone's favorite buildings in Chicago, Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City still towers over the Chicago River.  I will undoubtedly post many photographs of this mid-20th Century gem (designed in 1959, completed in 1964).  It was the first post-war residential tower built in the United States in an effort to stop middle class flight from the city to the suburbs, a trend that after 60 years is in full reversal.

Conjúnto

Conjúnto

Jack Siegel

I was late and there were no buses, so I flagged a cab.  First thing the driver said, "Boy is it hot."  "Yep, but I bet you complain about the cold in January."  I had that same conversation with another photographer when I arrived at the MCA.  Yet, with James Sanders and Conjunto as the featured performers tonight at the MCA's Tuesdays on the Terrace, the heat and high humidity felt great.  Latin music, with those slinky and slippery Latin rhythms, proved to be the perfect antidote for the heat.  I didn't have my notebook, so I don't have the set list, but the band started with Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man, one of my favorites. 

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