Now, I write movie, DVD and television reviews for another website. I get approached there all the time by filmmakers and such who want me to review their films. You never know what you are going to get. It’s always a delight to find a gem amongst the piles and piles of crap. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect when “Cigarettes and Fishnets” arrived.

To my delight, it blew me away. I know I tease on here about just sending me something is enough for me to rave about it. It’s really not entirely true. I try very hard to be honest here and in life. I am far from perfect, but I try very hard to be as honest as possible. If the CD wasn’t good, I wouldn’t have gone on and on and on about it. The fact is, the music is great. In my car I have Pink Floyd, Webb Wilder, Peter Gabriel, Oasis (OK, they can’t ALL be good), and the Sad Salamanders.

So, it was with tremendous delight that this past weekend I got an e-mail from Scooter telling me two of my favorite things had collided. You also know I could NOT do this blog without Chicago-area radio station WDCB. I really do love this station. Again, going to my car, if you look at my car radio pre-sets you will see the very first one is set to WDCB.

It is a truly excellent station and they play a great mix of classic jazz all day long. If I had only one complaint about the station it would be that it should be 24-hours, 7-days a week jazz rather than some of the other programming, but I know they kind of have to do the other stuff too. They also have a great events calendar and I couldn’t do what I do here without it.

I wouldn’t rave about that station if I didn’t actually listen and didn’t actually enjoy it. I have always hoped that maybe someone there read this blog and appreciated the links and credit I give them for being able to do this blog every day and every week. Quite simply, there would be no Jazz and Blues Lounge without WDCB to help.

Well, Scooter e-mailed me to say that the music director at WDCB contacted him to add “Cigarettes and Fishnets” to their playlist all thanks to reading about them so much in this blog. Right there, that makes everything I have done here at this spot on the interntet worthwhile. All I had to do was rant and rave about two things I love anyway and it has panned out both for me and for the artists I enjoy.

So, I hope you visit WDCB’s website. I hope you buy “Cigarettes and Fishnets.” I hope you keep reading this blog and I thank all of you for making me feel cooler than I probably really am.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

Still, I have to sing the praises of an internet radio network from Chicago called AccuRadio.  Ther are local, have limited ads, and have one of the largest collection of online-only, DJ-free radio channels that I have ever seen.
 

Yesterday I spent the entire day listening to their AccuJazz channel and, I have to tell you, I am in love. I first came across them while looking for something to listen to after my favorite morning DJ was done with his show.  I wanted a station that was diverse with lots of options.  I came across AccuRadio and only after listening did I learn they were headquartered right here in Chicago.

I started out listening to their Classic Rocktopia channel.  I am not JUST a jazz and blues guy, you know.  I love classic rock too.  Man, I have to tell you, their Classic Rocktopia channel plays some of the best in classic rock.
 

Then, I decided I needed to try their jazz channel.  They have specialty channels such as saxophone jazz and piano jazz and vocal jazz.  I prefer the generic “All that Jazz” channel that plays it all.  They play the old and the new.  I can hear Duke Ellington followed by Wynton Marsalis and it blends beautifully.

So, while you should definitely support and use every single music-provider service that b5media links you to along one side of the page here, but at the same time, I have to also recommend AccuRadio.  I do not think you will be disappointed and I haven’t even had a chance to listen to any of their blues offerings.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

Comcast provides something called Comcast Rhapsody Radio.  They have several jazz channels including a smooth jazz channel.  I love their jazz club channel.  They play the kind of classic jazz that I love and they play some stuff you are likely to find as new.  I have discovered some new names and talents while listening there and added them to my list of artists to watch.  It is all done without commercials and DJs, but you can link to the various albums and find out more information.

While I know that many people love the online radio station called Pandora these days, but for me, the best one out there is AccuRadio.  AccuRadio I found completely by accident.  They are one of the largest online radio station out there, with a seemingly unlimited number of radio channels.  Not only do they have every kind of jazz you could want, but I also love their “Classic Rocktopia” channel as well.

They play deep cuts.  They play things that will make you sit up and say, “Hey! I haven’t heard that in ages!” 

I had no idea they were based out of Chicago until I did some poking around on their website.  Therefore, I say, root for the home team.

They do not have DJs, but they show the current album playing and the two previous to it.  They do have commercials, but they are few and far between, surviving mostly through banner ads and such. 

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

 When it comes to jazz, you will find no better classic jazz radio station in the area.  They play all of the greatest jazz performers.  This is the place to hear Miles and Oscar Peterson and Dizzy and Bird.  This is the station that does not play the Smooth Jazz.  It’s great, classic, club jazz music and it’s wonderful.

The DJs are great too.  All day long and into the evening during the week you get guys who know their stuff and give you great information about jazz.  In fact, throughout the day, their programming is called “All Things Jazz.”

There is one problem.   It is located on a college campus, and thus, they are forced to play some other programming.  So, it is NOT jazz 24 hours a day and that is disappointing.  Starting about 6 pm the programming changes and the sound of the people on the air sound very much like students.  It’s just not as good.

It is a publicly funded radio station.  This means you do have to endure membership and pledge drives a couple of times a year, but it’s a small price to pay.  They stream online and their website is a goldmine of jazz and blues activities around town.  They also sponsor many, many jazz concerts and festivals.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

Here in Chicago, your options are limited.  This may be the case in most cities.  Commercial jazz radio just isn’t a viable genre.  Most cities, if they are big enough, have jazz radio stations buried at far ends of the FM or AM band, or they have Smooth Jazz radio stations.  I am not much of a fan of Smooth Jazz.  Finding goog classic jazz is tough.

In Chicago, for a time, the local NPR radio station, WBEZ, played classic jazz during the evening and overnight hours.  It was cool stuff to listen to, but it wasn’t attracting an audience.  A couple of years ago WBEZ made the decision to stop the all night jazz and the jazz fans in Chicago had a fit.  However, there were not enough jazz fans to make them change their minds.

So, where can you go?  Well, thankfully, there are several options, and the other good news is that they are all available online, so those of you in Chicago can listen to them as well.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

Here in Chicago, the local National Public Radio station used to play classic jazz all night long. Then they went and changed that and got rid of it.  It was rather sad, but the numbers over night were rather grim.  Now, there is WDCB, which I rave about constantly on here.  The only complaint I have about it is that WDCB still doesn’t play jazz 24 hours a day.  They mix it up with other things.

I think this is just the way of jazz radio.  Finding a classic jazz rado station is impossible.  The best you can do is find some cool jazz radio programs.

I am a former resident of St. Louis.  St. Louis also happens to be a great town for blues an jazz.  This is where I went to college and I lived in the city for about three years after college.  Of course, the station where I got my start was the Webster University station KSLH which was all jazz.  Sadly, this station no longer exists.

There is a public radio station and they have a radio show that plays jazz.  In a recent poll run by the local weekly alternative newspaper, the Riverfront Times, the jazz program on KWMU was voted the best jazz on the air.  The show is called “Jazz Unlimited.”

The cool thing about technology is that you can listen to radio shows at any time thanks to the wonders of podcasting.  I checked and, thakfully, you can check out “Jazz Unlimited” shows archived online.  So, I wanted to point you to them

So, to listen, click HERE.

The show runs live every Sunday night from 9 pm to midnight.  The host is Dennis Owsley.  If you happen to be in or around St. Louis,  you may want to check it out.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

So, I know this is a bit late, but I do hope all of you have a great holiday and weekend.  I hope the turkey has gone down all right and digested properly and that no one overindulged and got sick or anything.  I hope you all travel safely and get  to and from your destinations safely.  I hope you have a great time with your relatives.

I know I got a double helping of “baby therapy.”  I have discovered that there is nothing that puts things back into perspective when you are having a rough week like being with an infant.  All of a sudden, everything snaps back into place as far as priorities and everything seems like it will be all right.  I got to visit my niece yesterday along with my cousin’s first baby daughter.  Both beautiful little girls were enough to put me at ease after a strange week.

If you are out shopping, I hope you find the things you are looking for.  I have given plenty of great jazz collection suggestions here.  Personally, I love shopping online these days and hope I get some kind of gift certificate that lets me buy those box sets (or a couple of them) once Christmas has come and gone.

The one cool thing about jazz is that even the Christmas music sounds cool.  It’s because jazz is so much about improvisation.  So, if you are listening to “What Child is This?” played by a jazz musician, you are more likely to hear it in a way you have never heard it before.  I am fairly sure John Coltrane did a version of “Greensleeves” which is the tune of “What Child is This?” that is pretty awesome.  So, when the Christmas music at the malls starts to get to you, pull out a version done by a jazz musician and it may help.

I know that, with  me, nothing helps me relieve stress more than listening to jazz.  Whenever I am stressing about work or family or the holidays, I tune in to the jazz radio station or pull out my jazz CDs and I listen to them.  Before I know it, I am bopping along to the music and my stress has melted away.

So, I wish that for you as well.  In short, Happy Holidays and thanks for stopping by.  I hope you do it again soon.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

There is a guy that is a bit of a Chicago treasure in the jazz world.  He is also a morning radio personality on the jazz station here.  You may have heard of him.  His name is Ramsey Lewis. 

He was born in the Chicago in May of 1935 and is one of the most-respected men in music in general these days.  He is also the morning show host on Chicago’s WNUA, smooth Jazz radio station.  He is extremely active in the Chicago jazz scene and plays almost as tirelessly as Buddy Guy does with his blues and his guitar across town.

So, it was very cool to come across a MySpace page dedicated to Ramsey complete with awesome music clips you can listen to.  Click right here if you want to check it out, and I hope you do.  It’s worth the time. 

I have to admit, I have started to like these fan-created MySpace pages over the pages created by artists.  The fans take such loving care and time to create these pages, extensively research them and meticulously update them.  An artist who is busy recording and touring has little time for all of that.

So, please, check it out and introduce yourself to not only a great Chicagoan, but a great musician and one of the few living legends in the jazz scene these day.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

The cool thing is that we have jazz festivals even when it gets cold and the sky starts spitting snow.  That is the case this coming Thanksgiving weekend and I have the great jazz radio station WDCB to thank for this information.  I have written MANY times about this station before. I can’t rave about it enough.  Check out their website by clicking here.

Raue Jazz Festival 

Raue Jazz Festival
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 23-25

Come see jazz at its best. The word’s most renowned jazz artists—names such as Ramsey Lewis, Delfeayo Marsalis and Philip Hamilton—will grace the stage at Raue Center for a weekend full of music and fun for the whole family. Raue Center and Kendall-Jackson are proud to present the first jazz festival featuring a great diversity of jazz music over three days. The jazz festival pass will gain you access to all festival related shows and activities. One of the best buys—north of the bayou—for jazz lovers!

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets are available for individual concerts as well as a three-day festival pass.

Raue Jazz Festival Pass: $120
Shows included with the festival pass:

Upcoming Jazz Festival Events
Nov. 23 – Maureen Christine – 3 p.m. $33
Nov. 23 – The Philip Hamilton Group – 8:30 p.m. $33
Nov. 23 – The Sinful Saints – 9:30 p.m. (incl. with Philip Hamilton admission)
Nov. 24 – Ramsey Lewis Trio – 3 & 6:30 p.m. $33
Nov. 24 – The Philip Hamilton Group – 8:30 p.m. $33
Nov. 25 – Delfeayo Marsalis – 3 p.m.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

Jazz Institute of Chicago Presents
JazzCity: Saxophone Summit 

WDCB is very pleased to be a sponsor of the Jazz Salon, a series of monthly jazz concerts in the intimate setting of the PianoForte showroom, in Chicago’s Fine Arts Building at 410 S. Michigan Avenue – Suite #825. The season includes:

• Sat. September 15: Jean-Michel Pilc
• Sat. September 29: Larry Vuckovich
• Sat. November 10: Michael Kocour
• Sat. January 12: Tommy Muellner
• Sat. February 9: Special Concert: Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues
• Sat. February 16: Franck Amsallem
• Sat. February 23: Patricia Barber
• Sat. March 1: Anthony Molinaro and Howard Levy
• Sat. April 5: Ben Lewis

The Jazz Salon offers the audience an opportunity to hear wonderful pianists in a solo (usually) setting, performing on the incredible Fazioli piano. More details: JazzSalon.org

Maple Street Chapel Concert Series
Trillium 

All concerts on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., unless stated otherwise. Tickets are available at the door for $12 unless stated otherwise. For more information call (630) 434-4423.

Proceeds support the preservation of Lombard’s treasure, The Maple Street Chapel.

2007- 08 Schedule

Saturday, October 13, 2007 – George Mattson Trio

Saturday, November 3, 2007 – Trillium

Saturday, December 1, 2007 – Yuletide sing-along (free-will donation)

Sunday, January 6, 2008 7:00 p.m. – Special Consensus Bluegrass Band – $18

Saturday, February 2, 2008 – Kat Eggleston

Saturday, March 8, 2008 – Arranmore – $18

Saturday, April 19, 2008 – TBA

Sunday, May 4, 2008 – David Francey

Tribute to George Brown
The Maple Street Chapel Preservation Society, folk concert volunteers, and the wider folk community were saddened by loss of George Brown on July 17, 2007. George organized the concerts at the chapel for over fifteen years and was busy planning this season when he was taken from us.

The entire 2007-2008 season is dedicated to his memory.

A memorial concert will be held at a later date.

OK, that’s enough for now.  Enjoy.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge