Jazz exploration, and more, in Chicago.
As Joe took to the mic to open the night, he described the upcoming music as a “hellfire of sexy jazz,” which got a laugh out of the crowd, but would wind up being dead-on in the way a fire burns bright before simmering.
One month into the new year, and a new dedication to live music in the city. Work is still lax at the moment, so I'm taking advantage as much as possible by going once a week. For a suburbanite, specifically one not living along a rail line, I'd say that's pretty decent! The test now is the long haul. For now, I get to write about some some dark-funky Valentine's tunes.
"In and out, then in, then out. Simple, then not. Looped samples of inspiration much like I heard at The Whistler this past summer…that night’s sound leaned more into the contemporary jazz/neo-soul category, with added elements of world music as well. And Japanese RPG-esque DnB vamps."
Tim Follin appeared to be concerned with one thing only: Be badass, cool, and funky - from the moment you burn out at the start of a level to the moment the criminal car blows up in over-the-top, copaganda fashion.
New year, old me. As in I'm about to hit the age of 30 in March. Yeah, I know that's not old at all, but I do appreciate the way it forces people to rexamine their lives. Two things I resolved to do for 2024 is to break my listening bad habits (e.g. repeating albums/songs for entire commutes) and to visit the city more for live music. The Listening Lounge is honestly a way for me to admit to myself what I'm doing and keep the list alive. For the city, it's gonna be so much hustle, but I need to do it to break free of my current rut in the suburbs.
December is always a bit of a review, an excuse to not listen to Christmas music, which I've grown particularly fatigued by due to my full-time job. I do revel in the memories, however, so in that sense I still maintain the spirit of the season. This being my first year back in the jazz scene, there's been a lot of catching up to do, but it's fufilling work. Thank you for being part of it.
As of this writing, I have yet to see Ricky face-to-face since he left Chicago, so hearing this album is like a postcard from a new adventure.
“So when are you gonna get to the jazz?” Greene sarcastically asked himself on the mic. “People ask ‘when are you gonna play standards,’” he continued, as the audience laughed, “for god’s sake y’all act like you don’t know what I’m doing!”
Perhaps it wasn’t exactly the way the great Sonny Rollins would envision it - a typical Winfield crowd celebrating someone’s 60th birthday (give or take) does contrast with the folk songs of the 1930s Virgin Islands - but it did make everyone happy, much like that song does.
“Satellite,” the song itself, is everything you wish for a Quentin Coaxum song to be: invigorating, ascending, and irresistibly hopeful.
Blue Collar Jazz 