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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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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This has been a very strange week for me. I have spent the entire week convinced it was actually the day before what it really was. So, I spent all of Tuesday convinced it was Monday. I spent Wednesday thinking it was Tuesday. Then I spent Tuesday night out with friends until very late and that just threw everything off. Have you ever had weeks like that? Sheesh!
WDCB is the radio station that provides me with the jazz and blues concerts and performances that you find here. I will never stop raving about …read more

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It’s a holiday weekend here in the States. It reminds me of the question, “Do they have the 4th of July in Great Britain?” Well, of course the answer is yes, it’s the 4th of July everywhere. They don’t celebrate Independence Day, however. Get it? Har-dee-har-har.
Thankfully the weather here looks great. It would be a great weekend to gorge yourself on some great food on a stick at the Taste of Chicago and check out some of the great music they have there. It woul dalso be a great weekend to check out …read more

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I am not really a fan of Smooth Jazz. To me, this music is like the stuff you hear in a doctor’s office. Kenny G is smooth jazz and to me, that just isn’t really jazz. I know he plays a saxophone, but there are too many synthesizers and things going on. I like horns and I like drums and bass and long meandering solos. To me, that’s what jazz is. Like I have said many times, Miles Davis is real jazz. Kenny G and his ilk are not.
But there must be people …read more

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The Chicago Jazz Festival will be here before you know it and you should start making plans now. The Jazz Festival has grown steadily for years and while it is still the smaller and younger brother of the Chicago Blues Festival, it is starting to gain in popularity. It is starting to attract some of the biggest talent and the number of stages involved has grown as well. It closes out the festival season around here in Chicago and if you are a fan of jazz music, or just want an introduction to the scene, this is …read more

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Well, it is the last weekend in the month of June for 2008. I still cannot believe I am writing that. The mere thought that my niece’s birthday will be here before I know it, her first birthday, is just beyond my imagining. How does time move so fast?
Anyway, the weather people are predicting a chance of storms around the Chicago area this weekend. It’s another great weekend to catch a live jazz or blues show. I want to thank and credit radio station WDCB for providing the information about the performances you will find …read more

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OK, sorry about this one being so late. Heck, if you are in Chicago, you are probably already out and about doing things and seeing shows on a Saturday night. I do apologize. Between Father’s Day and it being my birthday, I just got caught up doing family things.
I also did some research on Friday looking for jazz and blues festivals within easy driving distance from Chicago. I found a ton. The thing is, I now have to try and put them in order and tell you about them. This may take longer than …read more

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Well, the big event this weekend in Chicago is the TOTALLY FREE Blues on the Fox blues festival located in nearby Aurora Illinois. It is right on the Fox River and the big headliner is Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Sadly, I will not be able to attend as this weekend is also my birthday and my family went and made plans for Saturday night that did not include seeing Kenny Wayne Shepherd. From that website linked above, here, again, is the schedule for this awesome event:
Friday, June 13
Time …read more

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Jeez, it’s a busy weekend as far as live music in Chicago this weekend. Not only is the 25th Annual Chicago Blues Festival (the largest totally free blues festival in the country, by the way) going on all weekend, but there are so many live jazz performances that I couldn’t fit the entire weekend on yesterday’s post. So, once again, I want to thank WDCB for the shows below.
By the way, I am still trying to find some way to post as I “fest” tomorrow. I have been testing Utterz and Spinvox. Utterz seems …read more

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