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It's never to early to celebrate Christmas and the holidays, unless, of course, you are Victoria Boros Liccione, who becomes distressed when merchants begin to display their holiday wares in November before Thanksgiving.
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This photograph was made from the north end of the Franklin Street bridge, which is just west of the Merchandise Mart at about 5:00PM. It depicts a classic view of the Chicago River, looking east. Visible are Marina City,
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This gentlemen should have ordered a Venti Triple Shot Expresso when he visited the Starbucks on Lake Street under the El tracks in Chicago's Loop.
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Gone are the boats. Gone are the leaves. Gone are the late sunsets. Today Day Light Savings Time began. In 48 hours we may know the results of an election that has gone on too long.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Millenium Park on a fall afternoon in October. The light was perfect, casting lovely shadows of the lighting trusses and lamps on the metal skin that gives form to architect Frank Gehry's Jay Pritzker Pavillon.
It's all about the layers that exist in urban settings. Tokyo is known for them, but Chicago also has its share of layers.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
"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.
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.
