Nov 5, 2024 1:00 AM
In Memoriam: Quincy Jones, 1933-2024
Quincy Delight Jones Jr., musician, bandleader, composer and producer, died in his home in Bel Air, California, on…
In an attempt to rekindle the traditional jam session, Vandoren and HotHouse conducted the first Vando Jam in Chicago on March 28. The format started in Paris in 2004 and now plays to a monthly packed house at the Sunset Jazz club on Rue de Lombard. It was imported to the United States and runs the second Monday of every month at the historic Knitting Factory in New York.
The Vando Jam will occur the last Tuesday of every month at HotHouse.
“This is a good old fashioned jam session,” said Vandoren artist consultant Steve Baughman. “It’s free to anyone who wants to sit in or even just to come and listen. You just bring your horn, call a tune and go. We know there are jam sessions here and there, but what we’re trying to establish is a new jazz community that encompasses the entire city of Chicago, North Side and South Side. We want professionals to be there to play with novices; we want the rich heritage of the historic Chicago jazz scene and to reestablish it as the jazz Mecca.”
A classic example of this fusion of all of Chicago is evidenced in the leaders of the jam session—Ernest Dawkins and Mark Colby. Dawkins is one of Chicago’s premier jazz saxophonists whose music reflects his extraordinary talent, not just as a musician but as a composer as well. He has recorded numerous CDs and is the founder and leader of his own group, New Horizons Ensemble. The former Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Dawkins takes the time to share his musical genius and knowledge with Chicago’s youth.
Colby has performed with Gerry Mulligan, Jaco Pastorius, Frank Sinatra, Maynard Ferguson, Bob James, Charlie Haden and Mose Allison. He is a first call studio musician and has played on more than 2,000 commercials. He has been a jazz faculty member at DePaul University since 1983, as well as Elmhurst College.
There is no admission charge to the Vando Jam. HotHouse is located at 33 W. Balbo, between Wabash and State Street. For more information on the Vando Jam go to www.hothouse.net, or www.dansr.com.
Quincy Jones’ gifts transcended jazz, but jazz was his first love.
Nov 5, 2024 1:00 AM
Quincy Delight Jones Jr., musician, bandleader, composer and producer, died in his home in Bel Air, California, on…
“I treat every day like it’s Thanksgiving,” said Roy Haynes.
Nov 19, 2024 12:57 PM
Powerhouse jazz drummer and bandleader Roy Haynes died Tuesday in Nassau County, New York. He was 99. One of the few…
John McLaughlin likened his love for the guitar to the emotion he expressed 71 years ago upon receiving his first one. “It’s the same to this day,” he said.
Nov 7, 2024 2:17 PM
In the aftermath of World War II, the deprivations felt throughout the United Kingdom were particularly acute in John…
Lou Donaldson was one of the originators of the hard bop movement in jazz back in the 1950s.
Nov 12, 2024 12:12 PM
Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, the final surviving member of the original Art Blakey quintet that in 1954 introduced…
“Watching people like Max Roach or Elvin Jones and seeing how they utilize the whole drum kit in a very rhythmic and melodic way and how they stretched time — that was a huge inspiration to me,” Hussain said in DownBeat.
Dec 17, 2024 9:58 AM
Tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussain, one of India’s reigning cultural ambassadors and a revered figure worldwide…
