FREE OUTDOOR SUMMER JAZZ CONCERTS IN HARPER COURT - FIRST FRIDAYS FROM 12-2:30 P.M.
Friday, June 2
JOE MARCINEK
12-2:30 p.m.
The Joe Marcinek Band is an experience you will never forget. That's because each show features a different lineup of musicians creating a different set of music every night. The music is equal parts Chicago Blues, New Orleans Funk, Grateful Dead Psychedelia, and Jazz Fusion!
Joe has performed with musicians including Melvin Seals from the Jerry Garcia Band, Bernie Worrell from Parliament Funkadelic, Ivan Neville from the Neville Brothers, Marty Sammon from the Buddy Guy Band, Ron Haynes from the Lenny Kravitz Band, and many more. View his past collaborations here. View Joe's albums here.
Joe tours nationally from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between. Most of the lineups will only happen one time, making every show a can't miss experience.
WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / SOUNDCLOUD
Friday, July 7
BILL MCFARLAND & THE CHICAGO HORNS
12-2:30 p.m.
By Neil Tesser
You almost can’t go wrong with a lineup like Bill McFarland’s: a potent, hard-driving outfit that matches his throaty trombone with a beef-stew saxophonist, in this case Hank Ford or a fluent, octave-stretching trumpet ace named Kenny Anderson. This kind of three-horn sextet first appeared in the 1940’s, as a bebop miniaturization of the big bands that had dominated the swing era. It disappeared for most of the next decade – in part because of the paucity of trombonists able to handle the technical demands of bop – but it reached it’s zenith when Art Blakey expanded his Jazz Messengers to a three-horn line in the 1960’s.
The Messengers offer an obvious model for McFarland’s band. But so does the music of the Jazz Crusaders (and not just on those tunes where electronic keyboards replace the standard piano). Several of the songs on the Chicago Horns’ fine debut – “Fire Horns” (Sopro Records) – show the lighter swing, the comparatively relaxed melodies and the pop-soul song structure that made the Crusaders one of the most popular jazz bands of the late 1960’s.
Friday, August 4
DENISE THIMES QUARTET
12-2:30 p.m.
Over the course of a multi-faceted career spanning 30 years, Thimes is no stranger to the music world, growing up in a home surrounded by all types of music from her father & radio icon, the late Lou “Fatha” Thimes.
Thimes has performed worldwide for queens and presidents, and was hand picked by Aretha Franklin to perform for her 72nd birthday celebration in 2015. She is clearly one of the cherished voices of modern jazz.
Whether headlining at Dizzy’s Coca Cola Room in New York, or conquering the national jazz festival scene, or sharing the stage with the legendary Tony Bennett, Denise Thimes has an unmistakable tendency to steal the show and astonish crowds of every size and background. As jazz aficionado Phoebe Jacobs stated following another famed New York show, “Denise Thimes is like Ella and Sarah born all over again.” It’s time for you to experience Denise Thimes.
Friday, September 1
ISAIAH COLLIER & JEREMIAH COLLIER
THE GEMINI PROJECT
12-2:30 p.m.
Isaiah Collier is a Chicago/Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, curator, activist, motivational speaker, and educator. Collier is most known for his work as a saxophonist and drummer. Collier's sound and approach is drawn from the influences of other master saxophonists including John Coltrane, Roscoe Mitchell, Wayne Shorter, Ari Brown, and Gene Ammons.
Collier has shared the stage with many musicians both locally and internationally, with artists such as Chance the Rapper, Lewis Nash, Waddada Leo Smith III, Antonio Hart, Junius Paul, James Carter, Rene Marie, Carl Allen, Paul Rogers, Bennie Maupin, Rudy Van Gelder, Angel Bat Dawid, and many more.
Past venues and festivals include the Jazz Showcase, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, the Lithuania Jazz Festival, the White House, Chicago Jazz Festival, New York Winter Jazz Festival, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Jazz in the Court (Hyde Park), the United States Embassy in Paraguay, and others.
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