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What is Happening Around Town with Mike Jeffers
What is Happening Around Town with Mike Jeffers
Date Posted: September 12 2011
Written By: Mike Jeffers
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This Jazz Fest issue of Chicago Jazz Magazine is always an exciting one for us, not only because of the event, but also because it features upcoming jazz performances at some of the larger venues and performance organizations throughout Chicagoland. Symphony Center, the McAnnich Arts Center, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble all have wonderful seasons planned for the fall and winter, and their schedules are listed in this issue. Plus, we are happy once again to be sponsoring Too Hot Too Handel, the jazz gospel Messiah which will take place at the Auditorium Theatre January 14 and 15, complete with a 150-person choir, full orchestra and full big band. If you haven’t seen the show be sure to get your tickets early––they tend to go quickly.
With the Chicago Jazz Festival upon us and the Hyde Park Jazz Festival coming at the end of September it is important to realize that even with shrinking programming budgets there are still great opportunities to see free live jazz in a festival setting featuring some of Chicago’s finest musicians. One of those musicians is able to keep himself very busy regardless of the time of year is Chicago’s very own, Orbert Davis.
In addition to being the co-founder, conductor and artistic director of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic; running a summer jazz workshop at UIC; co-hosting a weekly radio show on Sunday afternoons from noon-3pm with John Moultrie; and keeping a busy performance schedule with his own quartet, Davis has signed on as the artist-in-residence of this year’s 2011 Chicago Jazz Festival. Davis will be performing each day of the festival with a variety of world-class musicians, including Zach Brock, Brandon McCune, Marianna Soroka and many others. I don’t know when he has time to sleep but judging by the high quality work he always produces he doesn’t need much!
Chicago Jazz Magazine Jazz Lounge Chicago Jazz Magazine is happy to be programming live music at the 2011 Chicago Jazz Festival in the newly created Jazz Lounge at the fest. The Jazz Lounge will be located just East of Columbus on Jackson and will feature over ten different groups throughout the two day festival. Complete with seating for 50 and plenty of Chicago Jazz Magazines on hand, this is sure to be a hotspot throughout the weekend.
Jazz radio 90.9fm WDCB and the McAninch Arts Center have teamed up once again this year to present a full season of jazz performances at the MAC. They will also be presenting a more intimate series called the “Jazz Café” that will be held in one of the smaller studios at the MAC, plus the winter Jazz Festival that will feature Patricia Barber and CALJE. The full season is listed in this issue’s Jazz Calendar.
Going West in Febru-ary… Vocalist Frank D’Rone will be a featured performer at the 12th annual Newport Beach Jazz Party held in February at the Marriott Newport Beach Hotel & Spa. Festivities are orchestrated from morning till well after sundown with jazz breakfasts, luncheons, afternoon poolside jam sessions, evening concerts, a Saturday night dance and Sunday’s Jazz Brunch. As we get more information on the event we will be sure to post it to ChicagoJazz.com.
New Jazz Series in St. Charles Chicago Jazz Magazine and ChicagoJazz.com are teaming up with Bistro One West, located at 1 Illinois Street in downtown St. Charles. Throughout the summer, Bistro One West has been hosting jazz performances on their patio overlooking the Fox River, and received such a response they reached out to Chicago Jazz Magazine and ChicagoJazz.com to help program and sponsor the new event. The performances will being in September on Thursday nights and feature a mixture of duos, trios and quartets that showcase the rich Chicago jazz tradition. Upcoming performances include Spiral on October 6, Eric Schneider and Jeremy Kahn on September 22, Mike Frost Trio on September 8, with more dates to be confirmed soon. Be sure to check ChicagoJazz.com for details and information.
Joel Spencer heads back to school… Con-gratulations to Joel Spencer, Chicago jazz artist and former Director of Jazz Studies at Northwestern University (2006-2008), who has been appointed Director of Jazz Ensemble at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Spencer will fill the position beginning the 2011-2012 school year. Spencer is planning several fall performances with the jazz ensemble at UIC, including some possible guest-artist appearances. Be sure to visit ChicagoJazz.com for updated performance details as they become available.
Hyde Park Jazz Festival adds a day… The 5th annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival is now a two-day/20-hour free celebration of fantastic jazz music that begins on Saturday, September 24 and runs through 8pm on Sunday September 25. The music on Saturday will be featured at different venues throughout the Hyde Park neighborhood until 2am. On Sunday, all the programming will take place at the James W. Wagner Main Stage on the Midway Plaisance (60th Street) from 1 until 8pm. For a complete schedule of events and performers visit hydeparkjazzfestival.org.
Harmonicist Howard Levy is keeping himself busy. In addition to a recent performance at the Vail Jazz Fest in Denver, and concerts in Milwau-kee and Millen-ium Park, he is touring with the Flecktones through September 4, and again from Octo-ber 10 - November 20. He is also music director of Saffron Caravan, a multi-cultural group that will tour Israel September 14- 21. Levy now has realeased six CDs and a DVD on his Balkan Samba label, including a classical CD of his “Harmonica Concerto.” Levy was a co-winner of the Jazz Times 2011 Reader’s Poll for “Miscellaneous Instrument,” and it’s rumored that he may record a solo piano––yes, piano––CD for Nick Eipers’ Chicago Sessions label. Given their amazingly busy schedules, it’s doubtful that Levy and Orbert Davis will be having lunch together anytime soon!
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