South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini gave a breakout performance during Day 3 of the 2023 Chicago Jazz Festival. If you are fan of Abdullah Ibrahim or McCoy Tyner, Makhathini is your man. For my thoughts about and images of Makhathini and all the other musicians who performed today, click on the following link:
Day 2 of the 2023 Chicago Jazz Festival is now in the history books. There were many excellent performances, including ones by the Ari Brown Quintet, and singer Kurt Elling, with Charlie Hunter on guitar. Here are my thoughts about and images from Day 2.
Day 1 of the 2023 Chicago Jazzfest is now history. Some great players took part, including Ron Carter, Chico Freeman, George Freeman, Ernest Dawkins, Marlene Rosenberg, and Oscar Evely. Here are my thoughts and images from this extraordinary day.
Saturday afternoon Chicago’s Ukrainian Community celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day with a march, followed by a rally along the Chicago River. Flags, K-Poppers, and Ukrainian War Veterans showed up, together with 2,000 demonstrators. Here are my thoughts about and observations from the day’s events
Acclaimed saxophonist Gary Bartz is in Chicago this weekend at the famed Jazz Showcase. I caught his first set tonight, which was stellar. Here are my thoughts about and images from the evening.
Vladimir Putin made a surprise appearance on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue today. The Russian community was holding a demonstration to commemorate the third anniversary of Putin’s assassination attempt on the life of Alexei Navalny. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
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.
The Money Shot. My thoughts about and images from the Duck Derby
Today, Chicago’s Asian community commemorated Global Action Day for Justice for “Comfort Women” outside the Wrigley Building. Here are my thoughts about and images from the commemoration.
Several members of Falun Gong demonstrated outside the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China tonight. I was on hand to learn more about the Falun Gong. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
Abortion-rights protesters marched through Chicago’s Loop today with a focus on what they characterized as ‘fake” health clinics—ones designed to dissuade those seeking abortion assistance from obtaining an abortion. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
Today, Chicago’s Ukrainian community marked the 500th day of the war with Russia by demanding that Russia be held accountable for war crimes. It was quite a demonstration, with the Goddess of Justice, Themis, making an appearance. Here are my thoughts about and images from what was a visual spectacle.
Sunday morning, members of Chicago’s Haitian community held a rally in Daley Plaza in conjunction with other Haitian communities around the world who were holding simultaneous rallies. Everyone was seeking relief for the Haitian people. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
At noon today, I attended a demonstration in Daley Plaza by members of Chicago’s Russian and Belarusian communities. They were demanding that no nuclear weapons be stored in or transferred to Belarus. Here are my thoughts about and photographs from the demonstration.
Today, PETA held a demonstration outside the offices of the Consular General of Egypt. They were highlighting by the Egyptian tourist industry of camels. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstration.
I headed down to Federal Plaza today for a demonstration calling for the boycott of July 4th. It was lead by Rabbi Michael, who spent the better part of an hour explaining why Black people should not celebrate July 4th. Here are my thoughts about and images from the small, but impactful demonstration.
The Seventh Circuit heard a challenge to Illinois’ ban on assault weapons today. Around 9:20 AM, a group of 40 demonstrators held a rally in support of the ban, hoping the three-judge panel would hear them. Here are my thoughts about and images from that demonstration.
President Joe Biden stopped in Chicago today to deliver a speech at the Old Post Office, and then to attend two fundraisers at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in the Loop. Although he probably didn’t see them, three sets of demonstrators were on hand to make their concerns known to him: the Pro-Lifers, those concerned with Climate Change, and a group objecting to the deportation of an immigrant who has lived in Chicago for 18 years. Here are my thoughts about and images from the demonstrations.
Today, Pro-Lifers and Abortion-Rights advocates faced off in the Loop. Dueling demonstrations that thankfully remained violence free. The Chicago Police Department was out in force, keeping the two groups separate. Here are my thoughts about the days events, and images that I captured during the demonstrations and subsequent marches.
Chicago paid homage to World Refugee Day with a noon-time celebration in Daley Plaza. Unfortunately, the event was poorly attended, which is too bad. Here are my brief thoughts and some images from the festivities.
