Jazz & Blues Lounge

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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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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 …read more

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There is a website I visit every week. I try hard to mention them here and give them as much credit as I can. They deserve it. The world of jazz music is filled with organizations trying to keep jazz music alive and doing so on an entirely volunteer basis. It’s tough to get paid when you love jazz. It’s a great genre of music, as is the blues, but jazz is not the most popular form of music out there. People are intimidated by it and that is too bad.
I am, of course, …read more

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As I mentioned in an earlier post today, there is a jazz festival in the Chicago are. This is known as the JVC Jazz Festival and they apparently do festivals all over the country. I also appears to be performances at a whole variety of very cool Chicago jazz clubs.
From their website (linked above) the line up is:
Friday, July 18, 2008
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
House of Blues
329 N. Dearborn Street
(312) 923-2000
Doors open at 7:30pm
Show at 9pm
Tickets: Standing only: $45.50
Age: 17+
The Corey Wilkes Quartet featuring Greg Osby
Andy’s Jazz Club
11 E. Hubbard Street
(312) 642-6805
8pm & 10:30pm
Tickets: $21.50 in …read more

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Another weekend is here. While I am planning on standing in lines and cramming into a movie theater to see The Dark Knight, you may have other plans or desire to see some live music. Thankfully, summer in Chicago is a great time for that. There is a jazz festival this weekend. Buddy Guy is having a CD release party at his club “Buddy Guy’s Legends.” It’s all here and a special thanks goes out, as always, to radio station WDCB for the information you find here.
This weekend is predicted to be a real scorcher …read more

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