Jazz & Blues Lounge

The Jazz and Blues Shows for the Weekend of August 1

Well, the month of July is now in the history books for the year of 2008. It’s hotter than all hell here in the Windy City, but there’s nothing cooler than hanging out in a jazz or blues club and checking out a show. Of course, when looking at the calendar for both genres of music at WDCB, there isn’t much in the way of blues shows listed there. Of course, the city is holding its breath for the Lollapalooza show this weekend. Why they always manage to end up doing that on the hottest damn weekend of [...]

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More Performances at the Chicago Jazz Festival

Continuing our look at the upcoming Chicago Jazz Festival, I wanted to continue to show you the various stages. We have already covered the Pritzker Pavillion concert which will kick things off on August 28. We have also covered what is, essentially, the main stage which is the Petrillo Music Shell. We also ran down the lineup at the “Jazz on Jackson Stage” and you can find all of those if you just page down. There is one more stage to cover and that is the “Jazz & Heritage Stage.” Jazz and Heritage Stage Friday, August 29, 2008 [...]

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The New Releases for the Week of July 28

I know this is a day late. That’s what happens when your critical lifeline, AllAboutJazz.com, goes down and won’t come up during the time I slot to write this particular blog. That’s what happened to me on Tuesday and I had to go with another blog about the Chicago Jazz Festival. I hate it when my personal schedule gets disrupted. It’s a busy week for new releases and reissues. So, without further ado, here is the list from the fine folks at AllAboutJazz.com: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 NEW RELEASES 32 Festival De Jazz De Vitoria-Gasteiz – 32 Festival De Jazz [...]

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More Stages and More Performers at the Chicago Jazz Festival

The Chicago Jazz Festival is coming and it’s coming up fast. This is a good thing, even if you are disappointed that it also means the end of summer is fast approaching. It’s a great thing if you happen to be a fan of jazz music. It’s an opportunity to see more jazz than you could even imagine. The entire city is a jazz metropolis during the weekend of the festival and the various jazz clubs go all-out for the people in fromt out of town. So, continuing my breakdown of who is playing and at what [...]

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It’s Almost Here! The Chicago Jazz Festival

The month of August is nearly upon us. This means the summer, as far as schools and the cit of Chicago is concerned, is amost over. Chicago always has a festival season that starts with the Chicago Blues Festival and then it ends with the Chicago Jazz Festival. The Festival is nearly upon us, folks! As amazing as that seems, the fact remains, the dates are almost here and that means Fall will be shortly on its heels. So, you can start practicing your complaining about winter now, if you wish. So, this week, I am [...]

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More Outside Jazz Thanks to the Jazz Institute of Chicago

I know that I mentioned these performances yesterday, but I discovered them so late, I feared that not enough people had time to plan to see the concert last night. Never fear, lovers of Jazz and lovers of Chicago, the Jazz Institute of Chicago has more than one of those scheduled for this summer. So, if you missed last night’s performance on the beach, there are more concerts with the same Jazz Links Ambassadors and the Chicago Park District. In fact, there is one coming up this Tuesday, if you don’t have any plans. From the Jazz [...]

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Chicago Beach Jazz

One of my new favorite things is the Jazz Institute of Chicago and their website. They do so many cool things for people who love jazz. They have all kinds of scheduled performances and concerts and do what they can to keep jazz alive in this town. You may not realize that Chicago has beaches. We do. Granted, you can really only use them about three or four months a year, but we do have beaches and they are right downtown and on Lake Michigan and they are just as sandy and wet as the beaches you [...]

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Weekend Chicago Performances from July 25 – 27

The end of July is fast approaching. The dog days of summer have left the Chicago area for a time and the breeze is off the lake. This has caused the sky to clear, pushing out the pollution and making the sky a brilliant blue. It’s quite nice and it’s a good time to check out those live outdoor shows. However, thanks to radio station WDCB, I can also tell you about all of the jazz and blues performances around the area. I strongly recommend that you click on that link and check out their [...]

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The Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble

Chicago has a lot of cool places to see live music but, without a doubt, one of the coolest is Millenium Park, which is right downtown. I meant RIGHT downtown, with the buildings rising all around you, except for the part that points toward the lake, of course. You can sit on the lawn and above you is a metal laticework that has speakers, so you can see the stars and the buildings and still hear the music. Then there is the pavillion, colored red, each with a great view of the stage. Meanwhile, the stage [...]

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Hot Jazz and 6 Cool Nites

WDCB is a great radio station and you know I believe that. I rant and rave about that place and that station ad nauseum around here. But they are really a great source of information about jazz and blues music in and around the Chicago area and suburbs. In fact, since they are located in the suburbs, they are the finest source of suburban jazz music and concerts and festivals for those of you living in and around the Chicago area. One of their sponsored events is called “Hot Jazz – 6 Cool Nites” which is [...]

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