Aug 31

Aug 31 Wet, Wet, Wet

Chicago, Chicago Tourism, Festivals, Jazz, Musicians, Performance

Little did we know Thursday night, but when jazz hipster and vocalist Kurt Elling opened his set with Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, he couldn't have been more prescient. The rains came a song-and-a-half into Dianne Reeves Friday night set at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion.

Chicago singer Maggie Brown introduced the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master by noting Reeves' versatility. She is comfortable with standards from Dylan, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Fleetwood Mac, and a host of other pop stars. She has celebrated Sarah Vaughan, performed African-inspired folk music, and worked with Sergio Mendes, among many others.

Well the next time she is in Chicago, she might want to start with Wade in the Water, follow it with Take Me to the River, and close with Purple Rain. Along the way, she might throw in Stormy Monday, Rainy Night in Georgia, and Singin in the Rain. Reeves sounded great during the first song, which followed a rather lengthy funk number from her band. Reeves has some top-flight musicians backing her, as those guys had aptly demonstrated.

When the downpour began, we were told to take shelter immediately. I turned around, and saw sheets of rain coming down. I was under cover, but the winds were so strong that within two or three minutes I was drenched. I packed up my camera gear, and like 10,000 other souls, I headed to the underground parking garage to wait out the storm, which lasted for close to an hour.

Fortunately, we were treated to a lot of good music before the gigantic glass doors protecting the Pritzker Pavilion stage slid shut. Prior to Reeves, drummer Louis Hayes offered a straight-ahead set with his quintet. Hayes has been around since the mid-Fifties, having worked with Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, and Oscar Peterson, among many other notables. It was an enjoyable set, but not a memorable one.

Earlier on the main stage, the Sabertooth Organ Quartet celebrated its 25th anniversary. The quartet consists of Pat Mallinger (sax), Cameron Pfiffner (sax and flute), Peter Benson (organ), and Ted Sirota (drums). Top notch basic jazz by a unit that has clearly gelled after working so many years together.

During the day, I took in the Million Brazilian Project featuring Sarah Marie Young and blues guitarist, Guy King, who also doubles as Sarah Marie’s husband. Unfortunately, the light was not good, nor was the couple particularly well positioned, which is too bad. I captured no worthy images. They were obviously still in the throws of infatuation as they sang duets that brought to mind the best of Brazilian jazz. I will be keeping an eye open for them in the clubs.

At the Von Freeman Pavilion, I listened to sets by Greg Ward & 10 Tongues, Chris Speed, the Quinn Kirchner Quartet, and Junius Paul, who headed a quartet that included trumpeter Corey Wilkes. I always enjoy hearing Paul, who is the most stylishly dressed man on the Chicago jazz scene, and Wilkes, who now calls LA home.

The performing at the Von Freeman Pavilion always elicit a mixed reaction from me. Some of the music is bent, but great. In other cases, the musicians rely too much on abstract forms, which doesn’t always work for me. I, however, always appreciate the fact that we have so many young musicians making adventuresome music in Chicago. I’ve spent plenty of time in New York City clubs over the years. The Chicago scene is just as strong, if not stronger.

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