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Hyde Park Jazz Fest 2010
Sep. 30th, 2010 11:30 pmGosh, I said I was going to post about Jazz Fest, and just realized I hadn't, and time is flying! It was amazingly good. I left the house at about 12:45 p.m. to be sure to get a seat for a 1:30 performance, and didn't get home until 2:30 a.m., so you can see that I was having a good time! I took the bus to the Smart Museum to hear the Art Hoyle Quintet and then walked over to the Oriental Institute for the Charlie Johnson Quartet. Both those performances were indoors, but then I went to the outdoor mainstage to hear Maurice Brown. It was a bit chilly, but I was prepared! Then I went to hear Mwata Bowden and the Black Music Ensemble and their tribute to "Baba" Fred Anderson. This was absolutely one of my favorites of the entire jazz fest. Fred Anderson, who passed away a few months ago, was the owner of the Velvet Lounge, a première jazz venue in Chicago. A great saxophonist himself, he was a great mentor to so many musicians coming up, and a number of them got together to play in his memory, including Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid, Ernest Dawkins and many more.
Members of the Black Music Ensemble entering the hall:
Then I went back to the mainstage for the Tribute to Ray Charles. Yowza! Perrian Jordan sang Ray's part, but I'm here to tell you that the "Raelettes", in the person of Dee Alexander, Joan Colasso, and Tammy McCann (who did sing with Ray Charles), absolutely kicked ass:
As folks were getting ready to leave after the set, the emcee got on the mike and urged us to stay for "a very special announcement". Which turned out to be a guy taking to the stage to propose to his girl friend! It was so sweet, and she said "yes", and everyone applauded and got misty.
Now my plan was to go then to International House, to hear La Excelencia (warning: music! salsa dura!), go find some food, and come back for the midnight jam session. But it turned out that they were selling food and drink at I-House, so I didn't need to.
La Excelencia was, in fact, excellent, and rocked the house:
The midnight jam session is always a major draw, but this year I didn't have to worry about getting in. This year, they instituted a "Jazz Pass". You could pay $125, or attend five of a number of events spread out over the previous couple of months, and get a pass that entitled you to preferred seating at several of the indoor venues, guaranteed until fifteen minutes after the performance began. It was not difficult for me to hit those five events!
There is just something magic about a bunch of jazz musicians getting together to jam:
And Chicago has so many great ones. A lot of the folks on that stage I was familiar with, but others were new to me. I was particularly taken with a young lady named Sarah Marie Young, who sang with the equally talented Milton Suggs:
After the jam session, I went home and slept until 10:00 a.m. My only complaint was that I couldn't be in three places at once, and so missed a lot of good music!
Members of the Black Music Ensemble entering the hall:
Then I went back to the mainstage for the Tribute to Ray Charles. Yowza! Perrian Jordan sang Ray's part, but I'm here to tell you that the "Raelettes", in the person of Dee Alexander, Joan Colasso, and Tammy McCann (who did sing with Ray Charles), absolutely kicked ass:
As folks were getting ready to leave after the set, the emcee got on the mike and urged us to stay for "a very special announcement". Which turned out to be a guy taking to the stage to propose to his girl friend! It was so sweet, and she said "yes", and everyone applauded and got misty.
Now my plan was to go then to International House, to hear La Excelencia (warning: music! salsa dura!), go find some food, and come back for the midnight jam session. But it turned out that they were selling food and drink at I-House, so I didn't need to.
La Excelencia was, in fact, excellent, and rocked the house:
The midnight jam session is always a major draw, but this year I didn't have to worry about getting in. This year, they instituted a "Jazz Pass". You could pay $125, or attend five of a number of events spread out over the previous couple of months, and get a pass that entitled you to preferred seating at several of the indoor venues, guaranteed until fifteen minutes after the performance began. It was not difficult for me to hit those five events!
There is just something magic about a bunch of jazz musicians getting together to jam:
And Chicago has so many great ones. A lot of the folks on that stage I was familiar with, but others were new to me. I was particularly taken with a young lady named Sarah Marie Young, who sang with the equally talented Milton Suggs:
After the jam session, I went home and slept until 10:00 a.m. My only complaint was that I couldn't be in three places at once, and so missed a lot of good music!
