All in Musicians
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.
On Friday, January 31, trumpeter Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) performed an electrifying set at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts. Here are my thoughts about and images from Adjuah’s performance.
On January 25, 2025, the University of Chicago staged a Southern Soul Celebration at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts. Leading the charge were singers Joe Barr, Theo Huff, and Nellie “Tiger” Travis, backed by the Platinum Band. Here are my thoughts about and images from this fun-filled evening.
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Melanie Charles brought her quintet to the Reva and David Logan Center for the Performing Arts Friday Evening, kicking off the 2024-25 Jazz At The Logan series. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening.
The group, If Not Now, held a memorial service for those Israelis and Palestinians who were killed during the last year as a consequence of the attack by Hamas on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli military response. Here are my thoughts about and images from the memorial.
Day 4 (Sunday) of the 2024 Chicago Jazz Festival saw another day of perfect weather and great music, particularly with Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Mike Clark, Donald Harrison, Orrin Evans, and Alfie Jackson on the bill. Here are my thoughts about and images from the festival's final day.
Day 3 of the 2024 Chicago Jazz Festival brought sunny skies and warm temperatures, with lots of excellent music from a variety of artists, including Dennis Carroll, Jeff Parker, René Marie, and Kenny Garrett (if you like sheets of notes). Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
The second day of the 2024 Chicago Jazz Festival was the first day of outdoor concerts at Chicago's Millennium Park. Here are my thoughts about and images from days performances.
The 2024 Chicago Jazz Festival kicked off today with multiple performances at the Chicago Cultural Center. Here are my thoughts and images from Day 1 of the four-day festival.
We have a new ‘heritage’ group demonstrating in the streets of the Chicago: members of Chicago’s recently arrived Venezuelan Community. They took to the downtown streets today to celebrate what they hoped would be the defeat of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro in today’s election. Here are my thoughts about and images from this colorful demonstration.
The 40th Annual Chicago Bluesfest came to a conclusion today with a closing performance by Buddy Guy, a Blues legend. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
The 40th Annual Chicago Bluesfest continued today with performances by Southern Avenue, Vanessa Collier, and a Centennial Tribute to Dinah Washington featuring Dee Alexander. Here are my observations about and images from the Day 2.
The 40th Annual Chicago Bluesfest kicked off its residency in Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion tonight with performances by Corey Harris and Mr. Sipp, together with a centennial tribute to Jimmy Rogers, one of the architects of the Muddy Waters sound. Here are my thoughts about and images from the today’s festivities.
Emmet Cohen brought his trio to the University of Chicago’s Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Friday night for what was a terrific evening of music. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening’s peformance.
Late Sunday afternoon, I caught Eric Alexander’s set at Chicago’s famed Jazz Showcase. Here are my thoughts about and images from Alexander’s performance.
Saturday night I stopped by Mike Reed’s Constellation Chicago to hear alto saxophonist Greg Ward pay tribute to the great Fred Anderson. Here are my thoughts about and images from the performance.
On February 23, 2024, the Jazz Institute of Chicago held its Winter Jazz Fair at the Chicago Cultural Center. The day-long festival provided a welcome and much needed relief from the Winter blahs. Here are my thoughts about and images from the day.
Tonight I attended a performance by Chicago guitarist Jeff Parker and the New Breed. To my ears, the music was inspired by early-Seventies Soft Machine, but with far more electronics added to the mix. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening.
