I had the opportunity to see and hear alto saxophonist Charles McPherson three times over the last month. Here are my thoughts about what I heard and the accompanying images.
All tagged Joe Segal
Jazz is Back
Jazz is back in Chicago. It is great to hear and photograph live music in the clubs. I’ve been to Andy’s Jazz Club, the Jazz Showcase, and Winter’s Jazz Club, as well as to several street festivals, including Summer on State and the Wicker Park Street Festival. All the musicians are enthusiastic about performing before audiences again. And who wouldn’t be if it means getting out of the house?
Hot Weather, Hot Jazz
Click on the photograph to enlarge it, and Jack B. Siegel’s commentary and additional photographs".
Jazz Showcase
[Click on the photograph to enlarge it and for additional commentary and photographs]
I have always been a huge fan of Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, and Jimmy McGriff, who I saw in a bar when I sixteen--the owner bought me a drink. Dr. Lonnie Smith pushes the boundaries established by those luminaries, getting a lot of varied and interesting sounds out of his Hammond B3 organ. Gotta love the spinning horn.
Joe Segal's Hero
[Click on the photograph to enlarge it and for commentary]
It's a love hate thing. Joe Segal, the 90 year-old proprietor of Chicago's Jazz Showcase, loves Charlie Parker, which is why the photograph of Parker adorns the wall behind the stage. Joe has been in the jazz impresario business for 70+ years. Everybody who is anybody has been through that club. Joe is an institution in the world of jazz, receiving all sorts of accolades, including the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master honor.