Starting 8 p.m. tonight at Waterhole Lounge (1400 S. Western Ave.) Velvet Dreams Productions will celebrate the life and works of Fred Anderson. more ›

Fred Anderson was one of the best jazz musicians to call Chicago home. more ›

Chicago's jazz community lost one of its champions last June with the passing of saxophonist Fred Anderson. With Anderson's passing came the closing of his club, the Velvet Lounge. Now, the musicians whose talents he encouraged are banding together for a couple of tributes this weekend and next week to honor the late lion. more ›

Saxophonist and Velvet Lounge owner Fred Anderson, one of the giants of Chicago's jazz and improvised music scenes, passed away from complications following a cardiac arrest he suffered June 14. Mr. Anderson was 81. more ›

Sad news: veteran musician Fred Anderson, 81, remains in critical condition at Saint Francis Hospital. After being admitted to the hospital for abdominal pains last Monday he then suffered cardiac arrest, and is still in ICU, apparently in a medically induced coma to allow his body to heal. more ›

This weekend brings the 31st installment of the Chicago Jazz Festival, packing Grant Park with its usual solid mix of local, national, and international acts. The Festival is broadly split into daytime and nighttime slates, with the afternoon performances spread over three stages: Jazz on Jackson, the Jazz Heritage Stage, and the first new stage added in a decade, the Young Jazz Lions stage, which will feature high school and college groups from the metropolitan area. Once the clock strikes 5:00 p.m., things will switch over to the Petrillo Music Shell for the headliners. Check out this map for help with navigation. The full schedule is available on the websites of the City of Chicago and the Jazz Institute of Chicago, but make sure to check out the handy-dandy grid that the City provides for the best sense of what's happening where. more ›

Tatsu Aoki might be best known for his steady bass playing alongside Fred Anderson and Yoko Noge's Jazz Me Blues. He's also an educator (he teaches film at the Art Institute), founder and artistic director of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, record label head and producer, and a tireless musician exploring the limits of his instrument and himself. Aoki's endeavors earned him designation as a "Chicagoan of the Year" by the Tribune in 2001. more ›

Thrill Jockey Records turns 15 this year, and in order to celebrate they've decided to throw themselves a couple of big-ass parties, one of which already occurred in London earlier month. However, the label has called Chicago home for over a decade, so we're expecting the 2 days of shows happening at Logan Square Auditorium on December 14 and 15 to blow London's party apart at the seams. more ›

Well, we have been receiving holiday gift lists this week from everyone we’ve ever met, that means we should get out the credit card and decide who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. As we mentioned earlier in the week, there are plenty of art shops and fairs this to satisfy those shopping urges. Along with some shopping (don't forget our gift guide), here are a few events to keep you going strong. As always feel free to add more in the comments section. more ›

Remember how the Velvet Lounge was supposed to close on April 1st? Well, that didn’t happen (April Fool’s indeed!). Then remember how Fred Anderson said it was going to stay open for another month or so? That didn’t happen either, as it closed on April 8th. So now, the Velvet is moving. Like anybody else, they’re selling off some of the stuff they don’t need and asking its patrons to help them with a housewarming.... more ›

Tomorrow is April Fool’s Day. We’re a bit sad that it falls on a weekend this year as we’ll be unable to play childish pranks on the people in the Chicagoist offices. Guess the doodie-shaped-brownies-in-the-elevator trick will have to wait until 2008. Still, most pranksters give no quarter to the whims of the Gregorian calendar. So be on your guard tomorrow. In fact, you’d better start paying attention now because some people are already sowing... more ›