jazzandbluesnews

The month-long stay at his club that Buddy Guy was doing is just about over as the month is just about over.  You know I love Buddy Guy almost as much as I love Miles Davis when it comes to music.  For blues, Buddy is my touchstone.  For jazz, it’s Miles. 

Buddy is one of the greatest living guitarists.  He was a man who actually inspired Jimi Hendrix.  I mean, come ON!  You gotta admire that.  So, my pick show for this weekend is Buddy Guy and here are the details below as given by radio station WDCB.

Buddy Guy, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Matt Hendricks 

It’s the end of January already.  How does that happen?  OK, smart guy, I know that time moves forward and that’s technically how it happens, but how does it happen so darn fast?  That evil holiday Valentine’s Day is almost here. 

More snow is falling here in Chicago.  More cold weather.  This year the groundhog may not appear at all because his hole will be completely filled with snow.  What happens then?  The next Ice Age?

Anyway, good time to go check out a jazz or blues show at one of the jazz or blues clubs in and around the Chicago area.  In fact, it’s a great time and thanks to radio station WDCB for providing the information below.

JAZZ

George McRae Trio
Friday, January 30, 2009; 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Pops for Champagne, Chicago 

Chris Greene Quartet
Friday, January 30, 2009; 9 pm
Pops for Champagne, Chicago 

Thomas Gunther
Friday, January 30; 8 to midnight
Philander’s, Oak Park 

Chevere
Friday, January 30, 2009; 9 pm to 1 am
Green Mill, Chicago 

Green Mill Quartet Jam Session
Friday, January 30, 2009; 1:30 to 4 am
Green Mill, Chicago 

Kimberly Gordon
Friday, January 30; 6:30 to 9 pm
Katerina’s, Chicago 

ECC presents ‘The Club’
Megon McDonough
Friday, January 30, 2009; 8 p.m.
Elgin Community College - VPAC, Elgin 

Soul Sliders
Friday, January 30; 8 pm to 12:30 am
Pete Miller’s - Schaumburg, Schaumburg 

Jack Cassidy & Symbia
Friday, January 30; 9 to 10 pm
Katerina’s, Chicago 

Andy’s Presents Trombonist Tom Garling
Friday, January 30; 9:30 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Kelly Brand Trio
Friday, January 30; 5 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Live Jazz with Paul Marinaro
Friday, January 30; 8:30 pm to 12:30 am
Drake Hotel - Coq d’Or, Chicago 

Mark Adamczyk
Friday, January 30; 5:30 pm
Bill’s Blues Bar, Evanston 

Kenny Werner Trio
Friday, January 30; Contact Venue
Green Mill, Chicago 

Dushun Mosley & the Vizitors
Friday, January 30, 2009; 9:30 pm
Velvet Lounge (new location), Chicago 

Kyle Asche Organ Trio
Friday, January 30, 2009; 9 pm to 1 am
Pete Miller’s - Evanston, Evanston 

Eddie Harrison’s Jump Stars
Friday, January 30; 8 to 12:30
Pete Miller’s - Wheeling, Wheeling 

Kenny Werner Trio
Saturday, January 31; Contact Venue
Green Mill, Chicago 

Andy’s Presents Trombonist Tom Garling
Saturday, January 31; 9:30 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Chevere
Saturday, January 31, 2009; 8 to midnight
Green Mill, Chicago 

Soul Sliders
Saturday, January 31; 8 pm to 12:30 am
Pete Miller’s - Schaumburg, Schaumburg 

After Hours Jazz Party
Saturday, January 31, 2009; Midnight to 5
Green Mill, Chicago 

Chris Greene Quartet
Saturday, January 31, 2009; 9 pm
Pops for Champagne, Chicago 

Live Jazz with Paul Marinaro
Saturday, January 31; 8:30 pm to 12:30 am
Drake Hotel - Coq d’Or, Chicago 

Pianist Tim Curran
Saturday, January 31; 9:30 pm
Muldoon’s, Wheaton 

Stephanie Aaron
Saturday, January 31; 8 to midnight
Philander’s, Oak Park 

Dushun Mosley & the Vizitors
Saturday, January 31, 2009; 9:30 pm
Velvet Lounge (new location), Chicago 

Kyle Asche Organ Trio
Saturday, January 31, 2009; 9 pm to 1 am
Pete Miller’s - Evanston, Evanston 

Spider Saloff with guitarist Steve Ramsdell
Saturday, January 31; 6:30 to 9 pm
Katerina’s, Chicago 

Kelly Brand Trio
Saturday, January 31; 5 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Eddie Harrison’s Jump Stars
Saturday, January 31; 8 to 12:30
Pete Miller’s - Wheeling, Wheeling 

ECC presents ‘The Club’
Megon McDonough
Saturday, January 31, 2009; 8 p.m.
Elgin Community College - VPAC, Elgin 

Velvet Lounge Jazz Jam
Sunday, February 1; 9:30 pm
Velvet Lounge (new location), Chicago 

Andy’s Jam Session
Sunday, February 1; 7 to 11 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Kimberly Gordon Organ Trio
Sunday, February 1; 11 pm to 2 am
Green Mill, Chicago 

AACM Great Black Music Ensemble
Sunday, February 1; 7 to 9 pm
Velvet Lounge (new location), Chicago 

Joe Policastro & Dan Effland
Sunday, February 1; 8 to 11 pm
Pops for Champagne, Chicago

BLUES

Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials & Lurrie Bell
Friday, January 30; 9 pm
FitzGerald’s, Berwyn 

Joe Moss, John Primer, Buddy Guy
Friday, January 30; 6 pm
Buddy Guy’s Legends , Chicago 

Louis Zagoras Band
Friday, January 30; Sets at 9, 10:30 and midnight
Bill’s Blues Bar, Evanston 

Sammy Fender Blues Band
Saturday, January 31; 8:30 pm
Bill’s Blues Bar, Evanston 

Buddy Guy, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Matt Hendricks
Saturday, January 31; 6 pm
Buddy Guy’s Legends , Chicago 

Julian “Cannonball” Adderley is one of those oft-unsung heroes of jazz.  Maybe he just wasn’t as flashy as a Dizzy or as intense as a Miles.  Maybe he didn’t have the tragic story and life-cut-short saga that “Bird” did.  It’s hard to say why he sometimes goes overlooked, but for me, he was always one of the greatest.

Cannonball was a chubby kid.  He hung around with other musicians as he grew up and one of them, looking at his gut, said it looked like he had swallowed a cannonball.  From that moment on, his nickname was cemented.

Cannonball was good enough that Miles Davis asked him to be part of “Kind of Blue.”  His ablum “Somethin’ Else” I feel is a companion piece to that album as they were recorded very close to each other with many of the same musicians, including Miles.  It’s a great album and, in my opinion, one of the most important out there.  Maybe it didn’t shatter jazz conventions and rewrite the way jazz was played and recorded, but it’s a great album of jazz tunes by some of the best musicians of the day.

Radio station WDCB was playing some Cannonball this morning as I drove into work.  It reminded me how much I enjoyed his music and his albums.  So, I thought I would go to my ol’standby YouTube and see what they had for Cannonball.  So, here is Cannonball live.  In fact the musicans here are:

Cannonball Adderley - alto sax
Nat Adderley - cornet
Yusef Lateef - tenor sax, oboe, flute
Joe Zawinul - piano
Sam Jones - bass
Louis Hayes - drums

The tune is the classic “Brother John.”

If you have spent a few days here you have probably heard me mention Miles Davis to the point that you want to strangle me with my own intestines.  That’s fine and you certainly would not be the first, and unlikely the last, person to feel that way about me.  I can be kind of annoying at times.

The fact is, though, that you should not hold that against Miles.  Check out some of the comments scattered about this blog when I write about him.  I am not the only one who thinks he is, at least, ONE of the greats, if not THE great.  He happens to be my personal favorite.  Whenever I hear one of those Miles Davis signature trumpet notes I get a happy look on my face and turn on the radio or music-listening-device. 

In my opinion if you love music you need to listen to “Kind of Blue.”  This is Miles’ signature album and it’s one of the greatest musical recordings of any music anywhere.  It remains one of the most popular jazz albums ever recorded and it is now 50 years old. 

So, from YouTube, here is a video about the album “Kind of Blue.”

It’s the end of January already.  Still got your Christmas decorations up?  Still on that New Years resolution?  Just wishing winter was over now?  What happens to people at the end of January?  Are you all sinking into season depressions? 

Well, to hopefully brighten your mood here is a list of this week’s New Releases and Reissues.  Thanks, as always, to the all-volunteer AllAboutJazz.com for this information.

NEW RELEASES

Come In Spinner: 10th Anniversary (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Alan Parsons - Gaudi (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Albrecht Maurer - Jink: Hot Trio (Nemu )
Andrews Sisters - The Best Of Anthology (Cleopatra )
Anne Wirz - Infini (Bia)
Antti Sarpila - Hundred Years From Today 1: Antti Sarpila Quintet (Nagel-Heyer Germany )
Azteca - From The Ruins (Video Music, Inc. )
Barney Kessel - Kessel,Barney Vol. 3-To Swing Or Not To Swing (Pid )
Benny Golson - The New Jazztet (Concord )
Benny Golson - The Best Of Benny Golson (Concord )
Bill Evans - Sunday At The Village Vanguad (Pid )
Bill Evans - How My Heart Sings (Pid )
Bill Evans - Sunday At The Village Vanguad (SHM-DSD Remastering (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Bill Evans Trio - At Shellys Manne-Hole (Pid )
Bill Stewart - New York Trio Recordings 3: Night Whispers (Pirouet )
Bird & The Bee - Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future (Blue Note )
Bobby Timmons - Got To Get It! (Verve Japan )
Borah Bergman Trio - Luminescence (Tzadik )
Bud Powell - Blues In The Closet (Verve )
Burrell & Mcduff - Crash! (Verve Japan )
Burrell / Coltrane - Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane (Pid )
Cannonball Adderley - Quintet In San Franc (Pid )
Cannonball Adderley - Things Are Getting Better (Pid )
Carol Sloane - Hush-A-Bye (3D Japan )
Cecil Taylor - Looking Ahead! (Pid )
Charlie Byrd - Guitar Artistry Of Charlie Byrd (Pid )
Charlie Byrd - Guitar Artistry Of Charlie Byrd (SHM-DSD Remasteri (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Chet Baker - Plays The Best Of Lerner & Lo (Pid )
Chet Baker - Plays The Best Of Lerner & Lo (SHM-DSD Remastering (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Chuck Loeb - #1 Shooth Jazz Radio Hits (Shanachie )
Clifton Anderson - Decade (Pid )
Coltrane - Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane (Pid )
Count Basie - On My Way And Shoutin’ Again (Verve )
Dancing Under The Stars - Dancing Under The Stars (Emm/Chordant )
David S. Ware - Shakti (AUM Fidelity )
Django Reinhardt - From The Ultraphone Shelves (Monk )
Django Reinhardt - Last Years Of Peace (Monk )
Django Reinhardt - 1938 (Monk )
Django Reinhardt - The Last Years Of Peace (1936-1937) (Monika )
Django Reinhardt - 1938 (London Debut And Paris Sessions) (Monika )
Doug Carn - Al Rahman (Pid )
Doug Randle - Songs For The New Industrial State (Light In The Attic )
Douye’ - Journey (Betsy Blue Music)
Eddie Jefferson - Body And Soul (Verve Japan )
Elliott Sharp - Donaueschinger Musiktage 2007: War Zones (Neos ) - SACD
Elvin Jones - In Europe (Pid )
Enrico Rava - New York Days (ECM )
Ernestine Anderson - Song For You (Highnote )
Ernestine Anderson - A Song For You (Highnote )
Flo Handy - Smoky & Intimate (3D Japan )
Florence Davis & Paris Jazz B - French Songs (Pid )
Frank Foster - Fearless Frank Foster (Verve Japan )
Frank Wess - Southern Comfort (Verve Japan )
Freddie Mccoy - Spider Man (Verve Japan )
Full Blast - Black Hole (Atavistic )
Gadd / Jack / Petrucciani - Trio In Tokyo (Dreyfus )
Gato Barbieri - Chapter One: Latin America (Verve )
George Lewis - On Stage At Newport (Pid )
George Russell - Ezz-Thetics (Pid )
Gerry Gibbs - Moving On Never Looking Back (Kindred )
Gerry Gibbs Thrasher & the - Moving On (Bkm Music )
Grappelli / Petrucciani - Flamingo (Dreyfus )
Greg Cohen - Secrets (Tzadik )
Grover Washington Jr. - Feels So Good (Verve )
Harold Mabern - Greasy Kid Stuff! (Verve Japan )
Hiram Bullock & WDR Bigband - Plays The Music Of Jimy Hendrix (Zyx/Becker Hager Mikulski )
Hot Buttered Jazz: Celebrating Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Jazz: Celebrating Isaac Hayes (Shanachie )
Humphrey Lyttelton - Paseo Jazz Band 1953-56 (Pid )
Humphrey Lyttelton - Privately Recorded Acetates (Pid )
Incognito - More Tales Remixed (Pid )
Jaimee Paul - At Last (Emm/Chordant )
Jaki Byard - Hi-Fly (Pid )
Jamie Saft - Black Shabbis (Tzadik )
Jane Monheit - Lovers-Dreamers & Me (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Jazz-Hip Trio - Portraits (3D Japan )
Jimmy Rosenberg - Best Of Jimmy Rosenberg (Hot Club / Norway )
John Betsch Society - Earth Blossom (Pid )
John Coltrane - Settin The Pace (Pid )
Johnny “Hammond” Smith - A Little Taste (Verve Japan )
Johnny Griffin - Kelly Dancers (Pid )
Judit Pixner - Kein Weg Zu Weit (Nagel-Heyer Germany )
Junior Mance - Trio At The Village Vanguar (Pid )
Keith Jarrett - Yesterdays (ECM )
Kessel / Mann - Poll Winners Ride Again! (Pid )
Leif Shires - What A Wonderful World (Emm/Chordant )
Leon Triplett - Still Leon (Triplett )
Liza Lee - Anima (Jazz Doll Records)
Louis Armstrong - Satchmo At Pasadena (Verve )
Louis Armstrong / Duke Ellington - Recorded Together For The First Time (Classic )
Louisiana Shakers - Playing Tough (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Luba Mason - Krazy Love (Sunny Side )
Mann - Poll Winners Ride Again! (Pid )
Martial Solal - Live At The Village Vanguard (Camjazz )
Matthew Shipp - Harmonic Disorder (Thirsty Ear )
Matthew Shipp (Trio) - Harmonic Disorder (Thirsty Ear )
Mcphee / Nilssen-Love - Tomorrow Came Today (Smalltown )
Michel Petrucciani - The Complete Dreyfus Jazz Recordings (Dreyfus )
Michel Petrucciani - Best Of Dreyfus Jazz Recordings (Dreyfus )
Michel Petrucciani - Flamingo (Dreyfus Jazz )
Michel Petrucciani - Trio In Tokyo (Dreyfus Jazz )
Mike Holober & The Gotham Jazz Orchestr - Quake (Sunny Side )
Mike Nock - Mike Nock’s Big Small Band (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Montego Joe - Wild & Warm (Verve Japan )
Monty Sunshine - Running Wild (Pid )
Nelson Riddle - Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle (Verve )
New Jazz Divas - New Jazz Divas (Wagram Music S.A. )
Nicolas Thys - Virgo (Pirouet )
Nilssen-Love - Tomorrow Came Today (Smalltown )
Nina Simone - Let It Be Me (Verve )
Oliver Nelson & Joe Newman - Main Stem (Verve Japan )
Ornette Coleman - Somethin Else (Pid )
Ornette Coleman - Tomorrow Is The Question (Pid )
Paul Sullivan - Paul Sullivan Collection (River Music )
Paul Weston - A Life In Music-Songwriter, Composer, Arranger, Conductor (JSP )
Peggy Lee - New Code (Maple Nat-Wide )
Peter Cincotti - East Of Angel Town (Sire / London/Rhino )
Phil Ranelin - Living A New Day (Wide Hive )
Putumayo Presents - African Reggae (Putumayo World Music )
Quincy Jones - You’ve Got It Bad Girl (Verve )
Rag & Stomp - Rag & Stomp (Monk )
Ralph Alessi and Modular Theate - Open Season (Bkm Music )
Ran Blake - Driftwoods (Tompkins Square)
Renee Olstead - Skylark (Warner )
Richard Galliano - Brussels Jazz Orchestra (Pid )
Roberto Magris Trio - Kansas City Outbound (PCAMI*)
Roy Ayers - Ubiquity (Verve )
Science Fiction Jazz 11 - Science Fiction Jazz - Vol. 11 (Mole Listening Pearl )
Shelly Manne - West Coast Sound-Shelly Manne & His Me (Pid )
Stan Getz - Dynasty (Verve )
Sue Childs - Introducing Sue Childs (3D Japan )
Sun Ra - Horizon (Pid )
Tom Harrell - Prana Dance (Highnote )
Tom Jones - 24 Hours (Phantom Sound & Vision )
Various Artists - Jazz And World Music Sampler (Telarc ) - SACD
Various Artists - Freshly Composted Vol. 3 (Compost )
Various Artists - New Jazz Divas (Wagram )
Various Artists - Freshly Composted Vol. 3: Compost Dreihundert (Compost )
Walter Beasley - Free Your Mind (Heads Up )
Wes Montgomery - Wes Montgomery Trio (Pid )
Wes Montgomery - So Much Guitar! (Pid )
Zoot Sims - Zoot! (Pid )

REISSUES

Andrews Sisters - Best of Anthology (Master Classic Series)
Archie Shepp - Soul Song (Enja)
Bill Evans - Explorations (Prestige / Fantasy) - SACD
Bill Evans - Portrait In Jazz (Universal)
Bill Evans - Interplay (Universal)
Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans (Fantasy Records (USA))
Bill Evans - Waltz For Debby (JDC Records )
Bill Evans - Moon Beams (Pid )
Bill Evans - New Jazz Conceptions (Pid )
Bill Evans - Green Dolphin Street (Pid )
Cannonball Adderley - Know What I Mean (Universal Japan )
Cecil Taylor - Air Above Mountains (Buildings Within) (Enja)
Charles Mingus - Mingus in Europe (Enja)
Chet Baker - Chet (Universal)
Chet Baker - In New York (Universal)
Chet Baker - It Could Happen To You (Universal)
Chet Baker - With Fifty Italian Strings (Pid )
Elvin Jones - It Don’t Mean a Thing (Enja)
Gerry Mulligan - Mulligan Meets Monk (Pid )
John Coltrane - Lush Life (Fantasy)
John Coltrane - Stardust (Victor Rec)
John Coltrane - Coltrane (Verve (USA) )
Johnny Griffin - Little Giant (JVC XRCD )
Phil Woods - Woodlore (Universal Japan )
Shelly Manne - My Fair Lady (JVC XRCD)
Sonny Criss - This Is Criss! (Pid )
Wes Montgomery - Full House (Fantasy)
Wes Montgomery - Incredible Jazz Guitar (Universal)
Wes Montgomery - Portrait Of Wes (Pid )
Wes Montgomery - Boss Guitar (Universal Japan )

To think I almost missed this anniversary after crowing about my favorite jazz album being “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis.  But it nearly did.  I have just been so busy with so many things, I almost missed the fact that it was the 50th anniversary of the release of that great album slip right past me.

There is even a 50th Anniversary Edition Boxed Set you can order, which is so cool, I can’t begin to tell you.  According to the product description at the website linked above, that box set contains:

• Two CDs (original album plus studio sequences, false starts, and alternate takes from 1958-59 sessions, plus 17-minute “So What” live in Holland, 1960)
• DVD: newly-produced documentary featuring superstars of jazz
• 60-page ‘perfect-bound’ 12×12 full-color book, tons of photos
AND
• 180-gram blue vinyl 12-inch LP– first time ever in a Legacy box set!

The album is still one of the best selling jazz albums ever.  Some have even said that it is THE best-selling jazz album of all time.  I don’t really know if that is true one way or another, I just know that if you don’t have this album in your collection you should add it and the box set listed above would be a great one to help start you out.

The recording of that album is historic.  Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb all teamed up with Miles to creat an album that hadn’t been done before during that time.  Miles had felt that too many jazz records of the day were packed with chords, making them feel too structured and, in his mind, to boring.

So, he gathered the peoplehe trusted into the studio and presented them with an idea.  He would give each song just a basic outline.  They would know the key of each song and some idea of the scales to be used and then they were free to improvise within that structure.  The result was a masterpiece that was a hit at the time and still remains a major touchstone and milestone for jazz fans.

For me, it was the one that first made me stop thinking of jazz as some kind of noise the college radio station was forcing me to play and to hear it as real music.  I have been hooked ever since.  Maybe it will do the same for you.

In the world of jazz there has seldom been a musician of such brilliance mixed with such tragedy as Charlie “Bird” Parker.  The man was a virtuoso on the saxophone.  He played with the greats such as Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.  He did things on the sax that modern musicians still marvel and at try to duplicate.  However, he had a very sad and tragic side.  He was hopelessly addicted to heroin.  He had a wife and they had a daughter who died very young while Charlie was away, lost in a drug-induced haze.

For some “Bird”is their introduction to jazz.  I know it was for my brother.  It was the first time we ever connected on anything musicall before.  Before that he was always into one thing while I was into something very different. 

When Charlie died the medical examiner guessed his age as somewhere in his mid-60s.  He was in his early 30s.  He had abused his body to such a degree that he had aged him self at least double.  All that was left behind was the music he made and the legacy for others to try and follow.

There are precious few examples of Charlie playing live, at least on video.  He appeared on a few television shows and often they were out of the country.  If you look, however, you can find them.  There are dozens of CDs and records that present his brilliance.  Any one of them is worth listening to, but you should find his work with Miles and Dizzy and any of the other greats he played with.

Here is one of those rare live, television clips.  I found this on YouTube and I present it to you now.

Can you believe the temperatures are supposed to plummet here again?  Oh wait, this is Chicago, so, OF COURSE you probably supposed it was sub-zero around here already.  Most people seem to assume that polar bears roam the streets of downtown Chicago even in mid-July.

Here is my pick of the weekend.  I love the Velvet Lounge and I love lots of music and this has a double-bill goin’ on.  Thanks to radio station WDCB’s website for the information and make sure you check them out.

Velvet Lounge Double Bill 

The weekend is here.  The weekend is here and it is time to enjoy a concert in one of the many jazz and blues clubs throughout this great city.  It looks to be a busy weekend and there are plenty of shows to choose from.  This is great for me because it makes my job so much easier.

WDCB provided this information.  Check them out and tune them in online.  If you like them, and I think you will, then let them know you heard about them right here.

JAZZ

Jeannie Lambert
Friday, January 23; 5 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Live Jazz with Paul Marinaro
Friday, January 23; 8:30 pm to 12:30 am
Drake Hotel - Coq d’Or, Chicago 

Jeff Chan’s Horns of Plenty
Friday, January 23, 2009; 9:30 pm
Velvet Lounge (new location), Chicago 

Bobby Lewis R&B Band
Friday, January 23, 2009; 9 pm to1 am
Pete Miller’s - Evanston, Evanston 

Soul Sliders
Friday, January 23; 8 pm to 12:30 am
Pete Miller’s - Wheeling, Wheeling 

Bob Perna & Persistance
Friday, January 23; 9:30 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Shawn Maxwell Quartet
Friday, January 23; 8 to midnight
Philander’s, Oak Park 

Grazyna Auguscik Group
Friday, January 23; 10 pm
Katerina’s, Chicago 

George McRae Trio
Friday, January 23, 2009; 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Pops for Champagne, Chicago 

Chris Greene Quartet
Friday, January 23, 2009; 9 pm
Pops for Champagne, Chicago 

Green Mill Quartet Jam Session
Friday, January 23, 2009; 1:30 to 4 am
Green Mill, Chicago 

Jazz Vocalist Kimberly Gordon
Friday, January 23; 6:30 to 9 pm
Katerina’s, Chicago 

Dana Hall Quintet
Friday, January 23, 2009; 9 pm to 1 am
Green Mill, Chicago 

Alfonso Ponticelli’s Gypsy-Jazz Tribute to Django Reinhardt
Friday, January 23, 2009; 8 p.m.
S.P.A.C.E., Evanston 

Jeannie Tanner Quartet
Friday, January 23; 8 pm to 12:30 am
Pete Miller’s - Schaumburg, Schaumburg 

The Tony Smith Show
Friday, January 23; 9 pm to 1 am
Chambers, Niles 

The Elaine Dame Duo
Saturday, January 24, 2009; 7-10 pm
Broadway Cellars, Chicago 

Dana Hall Quintet
Saturday, January 24, 2009; 8 to midnight
Green Mill, Chicago 

Jeannie Tanner Quartet
Saturday, January 24; 8 pm to 12:30 am
Pete Miller’s - Schaumburg, Schaumburg 

Bob Perna & Persistance
Saturday, January 24; 9:30 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Live Jazz with Paul Marinaro
Saturday, January 24; 8:30 pm to 12:30 am
Drake Hotel - Coq d’Or, Chicago 

Pianist Tim Curran
Saturday, January 24; 9:30 pm
Muldoon’s, Wheaton 

Brent Kimbrough & Company
Saturday, January 24; 8 to midnight
Katerina’s, Chicago 

Velvet Lounge Double Bill
Saturday, January 24, 2009; Performances at 9:30 and 11
Velvet Lounge (new location), Chicago 

Jeannie Lambert
Saturday, January 24; 5 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Bobby Lewis R&B Band
Saturday, January 24, 2009; 9 pm to1 am
Pete Miller’s - Evanston, Evanston 

Soul Sliders
Saturday, January 24; 8 pm to 12:30 am
Pete Miller’s - Wheeling, Wheeling 

Kruno Spisic Quartet
Saturday, January 24; 10:30 pm
Katerina’s, Chicago 

Chris Greene Quartet
Saturday, January 24, 2009; 9 pm
Pops for Champagne, Chicago 

After Hours Jazz Party
Saturday, January 24, 2009; Midnight to 5
Green Mill, Chicago 

Andy’s Jam Session
Sunday, January 25, 2009; 7 pm
Andy’s, Chicago 

Dan Godston/Rich Corpolongo
Sunday, January 25; 9pm
Brown Rice, Chicago, 

Scott Earl Holman
Sunday, January 25; 6 pm - 10:30 pm
Chicago Chop House, Chicago 

WDCB Sunday Big Band Jazz Party
John Burnett Orchestra
Sunday, January 25, 2009; 6 to 9:30 p.m.
FitzGerald’s, Berwyn 

Velvet Lounge Jazz Jam
Sunday, January 25; 9 to midnight
Velvet Lounge (new location), Chicago 

Dave Holland Quintet at Mandel Hall
Sunday, January 25; 7:30 pm
Mandel Hall, Chicago 

Sunday Night Late Show
Sunday, January 25, 2009; 11 pm to 2 am
Green Mill, Chicago 

Brookfield Jazz Society on the Road: An Afternoon of Jazz and Dining
Sunday, January 25, 2009; 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Sawa’s Old Warsaw Restaurant (East Banquet Hall), Broadview

BLUES

January 23, 2009
Mr. G and The Mystery Band
Bill’s Blues Bar, Evanston

January 24, 2009
The Johnny B. Moore Blues Band
Bill’s Blues Bar, Evanston

I am still in that Mingus Mood this week.  I also greatly appreciated the comments left on my Mingus Monday posting from the other guy who really liked his tune “Haitian Fight Song.”  You may even recognize it since it did have a brief appearance in the movie “Jerrr McGuire.”

There’s the part where Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger go on their date.  They both come back to her place and her friend his watching her son.  This friend hands Tom Cruise a tape filled with jazz music and says the tape is filled with romantic tunes guaranteed to make a woman melt in the bedroom.  Later, as the two of them lie in bed and start to get intimate, the tune “Haitian Fight Song” is playing in the background.

“What IS this music?”  Jerry (Tom) asks and then the two of them laugh.

That scene always makes me want to jump through the screen and say, “HEY!  That’s Charles Mingus and ‘Haitian Fight Song!’  Show some respect PAL!”  Of course you can’t really do that and every time I shout it at the TV nothing happens.

So, to continue the week, enjoy a little “Haitian Fight Song” from Mr. Charles Mingus and his band: