In the whirl of the Holidaze, you probably find yourself with more so many chestnuts on the fire, you can hardly keep your tra-la-las all in a row. (TRANSLATION: in addition to family and friends, office parties and gift lists, there’s more music on tap than you can likely keep track of.)
That’s what your Chicago Jazz Examiner is here for – to remind you of several events, over the next couple days, that might warrant what little attention you have left.
- Wednesday offers plenty of guitar – and also a chance to play Secret Santa for kids around the city who wouldn’t otherwise see much material joy around their holiday. It’s the annual Guitar Madness concert at the Green Mill (4802 N. Broadway). As in years past, the evening benefits “Toys For Tots,” the Marine Corps Reserve’s Christmastime gift collection program. As in years past, admission is free for those bringing a new toy for the program, or $6 if you come empty-handed; either way, you leave with a sackful of sound courtesy of guitarists Ernie Denov, John McLean, John Moulder, and Chris Sieboldt – a terrific cross-sampling of the city’s edgier jazz/fusion guitarists. Music runs from 9 till 1.
- Further north, at SPACE in Evanston (1245 Chicago Ave.), blues-and-jazz guitar hero Dave Specter hosts the holiday edition of his series Adventures In Guitar, for which he invites a different guest fretman each performance. Wednesday night, veteran blues picker Jimmy Johnson – a friend, mentor, and occasional sparring partner of Specter’s – joins in; the music starts at 8.
- If you’re looking for a gift that keeps on giving, consider making yourself a permanent part of the record – in this case, the new album that Petra’s Recession Seven, led by midnight-clear vocalist Petra van Nuis, will record Wednesday and Thursday at Katerina’s (1920 W. Irving Park). Drawing their repertoire from the days of America’s previous worst economic collapse, the 1920s and 30s (you may have heard about it; it was in all the papers), the Recession Seven handles the material with playful respect, thanks to outstanding soloists like clarinetist Kim Cusack, trumpet poet Art Davis, and Petra’s hubby Andy Brown on guitar.
The music (and the recording) begin at 8; Katerina herself promises gifts for those who go full out and arrive in garb that re-creates the music’s era. Since many of us haven’t been able to afford new clothes this century, that might not be such a stretch.
- Also Wednesday, at The Hideout (1354 W. Wabansia), bass clarinetist Jason Stein celebrates the release of The Story This Time (Delmark), the splendid new disc by his relatively new, eponymous quartet – which, on the strength of this debut album, suddenly vaults into the upper echelon of Chicago’s new-music ensembles. Keefe Jackson shines on tenor and, on a few tunes, the unwieldy contrabass clarinet; the rhythm section of bassist Josh Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly provides its own marvels while supporting the horns; and Stein’s work completely justifies his decision to play bass clarinet to the exclusion of any other horns.
In addition to his own compositions, Stein includes three from Thelonious Monk and two more from the Lennie Tristano songbook, as he and Jackson modernize the vital precedent of Tristano’s music – and especially its Chicago-spawned interplay between Lee Konitz’s alto and Warne Marsh’s tenor. An absolute joy, the album is one of two Chicago discs to make my Top Ten list for 2011. (I’ll publish the complete list in the week between Christmas and New Year’s.)
- One more to take note of – and since it doesn’t take place on the same night as everything above, you have a decent chance of getting go it. Thursday, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, the big band in residence at Columbia College, debuts a new series of small-group concerts at the Harold Washington Library (7:30 PM). Drummer and CJE artistic director Dana Hall leads the concert, entitled Buhaina's Delight: Art Blakey and the Message of Jazz, highlighting the “hard-bop academy” that was the Jazz Messengers, the long-lived combo in which Blakey shaped three generations of jazz leaders.
The gig features Chicago stalwarts Geof Bradfield on tenor, Tim Coffman on trombone, and Dan Trudell on piano, with two out-of-town guests: the nimble and deep-toned bassist Rodney Whitaker and the intrepid, lava-toned trumpeter Derrick Gardner (in from teaching gigs at Michigan State and Manitoba Universities, respectively). It’s an ear-popping lineup, and a small reminder that in Chicago, the music keeps on giving all year long.
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