All in Blues
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival continued its four-day run on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The fourth day’s highlight was Isaiah Collier playing Coltrane. Collier paid tribute to one of his musical idols. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 4 of the festival.
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival continued its four day run on Saturday, September 5, 2026. The third day’s highlight was the Miles Electric Band, an assemblage featuring some of Chicago’s top jazz musicians. Its purpose: To pay tribute to trumpet master Miles Davis and the music he produced during his electric period. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 3 of the festival.
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival continued its four day run on Friday, September 4, 2026. The second day’s highlight was Dr. Emma Dayhuff’s Innovations & Lineage, a program that featured some of Chicago’s top jazz musicians. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 2 of the festival.
The 2026 Chicago Jazz Festival kicked off its annual run on Thursday, September 3, 2026. The day’s highlight was the closing performance, a duet between vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 1 of the festival.
Today, June 7, 2026, saw the Chicago Blues Festival charge into Day 3 of its annual run. The day included performances by Melody Angel, Chris Cain, Katherine Davis, Deitra Farr, Sue Foley, Lee Kanehira, Lynne Jordan, Mary Lane, Taj Mahal, and Nora Jean Wallace. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
Today, June 6, 2026, saw the Chicago Blues Festival charge into Day 2 of its annual run. The day included performances by Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Nick Moss, Ruthie Foster, Shakura S’Aida, Dylan Triplett, and Dexter Allen. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
Today, June 5, 2026, saw the annual Chicago Blues Festival kickoff. The day included Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop performing as a duo, as well as guitar slingers Ronnie Baker Brooks, Torozon Cannon, Tinsley Ellis, Lil’ Ed and Nick Moss challenging each other in the battle of the axes. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
Isaiah Collier brought his saxophones and the Chosen Few to the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on Friday, May 1, 2026 to close out International Jazz Day week with a tribute to John Coltrane. Here are my thoughts about and images from the concert.
I had the opportunity to photograph the 15th International Jazz Day Thursday night, which was held at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House. Here are my thoughts about and images from the gala concert.
In honor of International Jazz Day, Kris Bowers, Marcus Miller, and Herbie Hancock sat down for a panel discussion at the Chicago Cultural Center. Here are my thoughts about and images from the afternoon gathering.
Orbert Davis reimagines Miles Davis’s seminal work, Sketches of Spain, four days before the 15th Annual Jazz Day celebration in the host city of Chicago. Here are my thoughts about and images from the concert.
Vocalist and guitarist Fantastic Negrito brought his contemporary Blues and Soul to the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on Saturday April 11, 2026 for an exuberant concert. Here are my thoughts about and images from Negrito’s performance.
Billy Branch brought his Sons of the Blues to the Logan Center Friday night. The SOBs were larger than normal, with a horn section and three backup singers. Branch was launching his new album, The Blues is My Biography. The band the music was terrific. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening.
The third day of the 2025 Chicago Jazz Festival brought a variety of jazz styles to Chicago’s Millennium Park. Alto saxophonist Gary Bartz played some funk, as well as the airy sounds of early Seventies electrified jazz. Closing out the day, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers played many familiar songs rooted in the New Orleans jazz tradition. Here are my thoughts and images from the day’s performances.
The 2025 Chicago Jazz Festival opened its four-day run with a superb lineup. Here are my thoughts about and images from the the first day of the festival.
The 2025 Chicago Blues Festival went out with a bang tonight at the Pritzker Pavilion. Unfortunately, C.J. Chenier was scratched from the lineup due to an hour-long rain delay, but Lurrie Bell, Avery R. Young, and Mavis Staples did take the stage. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day’s performances.
Saturday brought an exciting days of Blues to Chicago’s Millennium Park as the 2025 Chicago Blues Festival kept churning out exciting music for the thousands who flooded the park today. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day’s festivities.
The 2025 Chicago Bluesfest opened its run in Chicago’s Millennium Park today. For me, the big name of the day was Christone “Kingfish” ingram who played during the B.B. Ing Centennial Tribute on the main stage at the Pritzker Pavilion. Tomorrow Kingfish is the headliner. Here are my thoughts about Kingfish’s and all the other often incendiary performances, together with my images.
The 2025 Chicago Bluesfest kicked off this evening at the Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport. The bill included 91-year-old living legend Bobby Rush, as well as Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues. Here are my thoughts about electrifying performances, together with my images from the evening.
On Thursday, March 27, 2025, I attended a fundraiser for the Ukrainian military at Le Piano, a jazz club located in Chicago’s Rogers Park. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening of fun and music.
