Maybe you don't like the world's greatest sport or consuming delicious food and drink. Or maybe you just aren't a Saints fan, a Colts fan, or a fan of hypocritical corporate decisions. more ›

Innovative, thoughtful programming and unorthodox venues were hallmarks of Anaphora's inaugural season, and it looks like they'll be picking up where they left off with tomorrow night's opener of their Contemporary Series at the Jazz Showcase. The concert will highlight a recent contemporary music trend of incorporating jazz in more sophisticated ways. Many of the early attempts to combine the two genres treated jazz as a novelty - an orchestra playing swing eighth notes, say - but now the fusion is becoming more organic and less overt, due in large part to a shrinking music world that allows composers to be exposed to and influenced by a wider variety of sources. Augusta Reed Thomas, the former Chicago Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence whose “D(i)agon(als)” for solo clarinet will be performed Tuesday, described this new approach:

It is clear, in all my works, that I have been listening to jazz for 30 years. I am not a composer who does empty-headed "cross-over" jazz pieces where the jazz bits make all the jazzer's blush with embarrassment.... rather, there is a deeply integrated and digested set of references and perfumes which can be sensed.

It's been a season of milestones for the city-sponsored music festivals. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the World Music Festival. What started out as a small festival centered in Chicago's notable places for international music has evolved into a city-wide event, with artists performing throughout the city limits. WMF highlights Chicago's reputation as a city of neighborhoods. In incorporating most of the major club venues, WMF also does more to shine a positive spotlight on our vibrant music club scene in one week than venue owners often do themselves. Only the ongoing resistance to the promoters ordinance can unite club owners as well. more ›

Joe Segal's legendary Jazz Showcase has led a somewhat nomadic existence since he opened it in 1947, setting up shop in perhaps sixty different locations. The latest incarnation opened earlier this year in Printer's Row and this past weekend we used a gig by the legendary Benny Golson as an excuse to check out the new digs. Our conclusion: wow! more ›