All in Jazz
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I have always been a huge fan of Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, and Jimmy McGriff, who I saw in a bar when I sixteen--the owner bought me a drink. Dr. Lonnie Smith pushes the boundaries established by those luminaries, getting a lot of varied and interesting sounds out of his Hammond B3 organ. Gotta love the spinning horn.
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I love seeing our jazz treasures. The years of performing and experimenting are often on display, as they were during Cole's set. Accompanied by a bass player, drummer, and guitarist, Cole lead a very subtle, but powerful quartet, playing a number of selections from the American Songbook, as well as a tune by Sonny Boy Williamson, which reflects the influence of the blues that pervades the entire effort.
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Jazz guitarist Kurt Rosewinkel brought his six-piece band to the Jazz Showcase this weekend for the premiere of his new album, Caipi. In a review of the Thursday night opening, Tribune reviewer Howard Reich was highly complimentary of Rosenwinkel, but he seemed skeptical about what he heard,
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It's a love hate thing. Joe Segal, the 90 year-old proprietor of Chicago's Jazz Showcase, loves Charlie Parker, which is why the photograph of Parker adorns the wall behind the stage. Joe has been in the jazz impresario business for 70+ years. Everybody who is anybody has been through that club. Joe is an institution in the world of jazz, receiving all sorts of accolades, including the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master honor.
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2017 Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Fred Hersch brought his trio to the Logan Center last night. For me, the standout was drummer Eric McPherson, who was the master of the subtlety, as exemplified by his use of brushes and the gentle tap here and there.
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Carrington and company performed selections from her tribute to Duke Ellington's Money Jungle, now 50-plus years old. I was particularly impressed by saxophonist Mark Shin's guttural tone. The notes had an edge that was more out there than one might have expected.
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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.
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.
