The first birthday concert in memory of Fred Anderson, the late tenor saxist, clubowner, and mentor, will take place at the Jazz Showcase on March 22, organizers have announced.
Anderson, who died last June 24, regularly celebrated his birthday in grand style at the Velvet Lounge, his now shuttered club at 67 E. Cermak. At both that address and at its previous location a couple blocks away, the Velvet evolved into a cauldron of experimental and avant-garde jazz, not only for Chicago listeners but also for the national and European visitors who flocked to the club.
Starting in 1999, when he turned 70, Anderson’s birthday tributes became multi-day festivals starring peers, former sidemen, acolytes, and Anderson himself. Several of these events yielded live recordings, including Birthday Live 2000 (Asian Improv Records) and the landmark 21st Century Chase (Delmark), which chronicled his 80th-birthday celebration in 2009 on CD and DVD. (Both contained liner notes by your Chicago Jazz Music Examiner.)
Many of the artists who regularly took part in those birthday concerts will gather at the Jazz Showcase seven weeks from now, including Kidd Jordan, the New Orleans saxophone icon and paterfamilias, who locked horns with Anderson at least once a year (and at his 80th-birthday bash); drummers Hamid Drake and Chad Taylor; keyboardist Jim Baker; and no less than three of the bass players with whom Anderson recorded over the last 20 years: Tatsu Aoki, Harrison Bankhead, and the legendary New York bassist Henry Grimes.
This group, billed as “The Brotherhood of Fred,” will play two sets starting at 7 PM, followed by a jam session that will no doubt attract many of the other musicians who frequented the Velvet Lounge (either on stage or in the audience) over the years. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Velvet Birdhouse Coalition, formed late last year to carry on the mission of the Velvet Lounge at various venues throughout the city.
(Again, this concert is scheduled for March 22. That gives you plenty of advance notice, but just to be safe -- enter it into your calendar now.)
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