Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
The Green Mill in Chicago is planning to hold shows this weekend for the first time in three months.
(Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel/CC BY-SA 4.0)Even as states like Texas and Florida are dealing with a significant surge in new cases of the coronavirus, a few jazz clubs in other parts of the country are planning to open their doors—with some modifications—beginning Friday.
In Chicago, Block Club reports that the venerable Green Mill is set to host shows this weekend, with the caveat that there won’t be vocalists or horn players. The move comes as the city enters a new phase of reopening.
The club’s owner, Dave Jemilo, told Block Club that he needed to have revenue coming in after being closed for three months due to the pandemic, but was unsure of how opening his doors would go: “I don’t even know if it will be worth it,” he said. “This is all unprecedented.”
The venue’s set to open 3-11 p.m. each day this weekend, with music in the evenings. The club will be functioning at 25-percent capacity.
Keystone Korner, in Baltimore, also has scheduled performances for this weekend. The Sean Jones Quartet and Eternal Triangle (led by Warren Wolf) are slated to perform at the venue, which is planning to function at 50-percent capacity with plexiglass dividers to separate concertgoers. DB
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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