Full Description
The first book to trace the vast influence of Chicago jazz from its origins to today—from Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton to Anita O'Day, Herbie Hancock, and the AACM.
Author and Chicago native Howard Reich gives readers a front-row seat to the history of Chicago jazz as it roared forth in jazz clubs, concert halls, and festivals. Reich covered Chicago jazz for more than thirty years as the Chicago Tribune's staff critic, and in this collection, he argues that jazz as an art form is inconceivable without Chicago. Carefully choosing from among his thousands of articles on jazz, Reich highlights twenty-five of the most important Chicago jazz artists who pushed the art form forward.
The Majesty of Chicago Jazz begins with two New Orleans visionaries who achieved their artistic pinnacles in Chicago in the Roaring Twenties: Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong. In the decades that followed, Chicago produced an uninterrupted line of innovators: revolutionaries Ahmad Jamal and Sun Ra, iconoclasts Von Freeman and Fred Anderson, populists Herbie Hancock and Ramsey Lewis, chameleons Patricia Barber and Kurt Elling, and the breakthrough band of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), among others. Reich offers two pieces on each of the book's twenty-five visionaries, including profiles, reviews, appreciations, and obituaries. The book concludes with a beginner-friendly discography, perfect for those looking to listen along.
The Majesty of Chicago Jazz is captivating for jazz newcomers and aficionados alike—all are guaranteed to learn something surprising here. With a musician's ear and a journalist's expertise, Reich offers listeners a valuable guide to the groundbreaking jazz that has come out of Chicago, a city that remains a fertile breeding ground for musical experimentation.
Contents
PREFACE: Jazz Without Chicago?
On Chicago Jazz: Hotter Near the Lake (Sept. 5, 1993)
On the AACM: Revolution in Sound (March 1, 2015)
1: JELLY ROLL MORTON
Jelly Roll Blues, Part 1 (Dec. 12, 1999)
The Gospel According to Jelly Roll (Sept. 25, 2005)
2: LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Satchmo in Chicago (April 9, 1995)
What If Armstrong Succumbed to Pandemic? (May 24, 2020)
3: ART HODES
Born to the Purple (March 3, 1991)
The Blues, Brother (Oct. 25, 1992)
4: ANITA O'DAY
A Bright New O'Day (April 22, 1990)
O'Day Is Back in Town (May 6, 1990)
5: DOROTHY DONEGAN
Dorothy in Dreamland (Sept. 19, 1993)
Piano Madness (Sept. 22, 1993)
6: AHMAD JAMAL
Still Inventing (Oct. 8, 2014)
88 Years Young (Oct. 13, 2018)
7: SUN RA
Out of This World (Feb. 24, 1991)
Cosmic Tunes (May 3, 1992)
8: OSCAR BROWN JR.
An Appreciation (June 5, 2005)
Behind the Music (Oct. 14, 2005)
9: JOHNNY HARTMAN
Back into the Spotlight (June 4, 1995)
A Singular Voice (June 12, 2024)
10: JOHNNY GRIFFIN
A Jazzman's Return (April 18, 1993)
"Little Giant" at 62 (April 29, 1990)
11: VON FREEMAN
Freeman Is Chicago Jazz History (Sept. 20, 1992)
Freeman's Birth Year Is Wrong (Jan. 11, 2011)
12: FRED ANDERSON
The Velvet Lounge (Aug. 28, 1997)
Straight, No Pretense (June 11, 1995)
13: HERBIE HANCOCK
Herbie's Blues (March 21, 2004)
Dark Days (Nov. 12, 2014)
14: KELAN PHIL COHRAN
Inspiring Generations (June 30, 2017)
Cohran Honors Sun Ra (Aug. 16, 2008)
15: MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS
A Vital Influence (Nov. 2, 2017)
An Epic Statement (April 13, 1999)
16: WILLIE PICKENS
A Piano Titan (Dec. 14, 2017)
Next for NEA? (May 13, 2015)
17: RAMSEY LEWIS
The Music of His Years (Feb. 25, 1996)
"Proclamation of Hope" (June 7, 2009)
18: DEE ALEXANDER
Spreading Her Wings (Dec. 30, 2007)
A New Freedom (Oct. 15, 2016)
19: REGINALD ROBINSON
Ragtime Blues (May 1, 2005)
Invisible Man? (Jan. 24, 2010)
20: PATRICIA BARBER
Reaching "Higher" (June 2, 2019)
A New Take on Art Songs (Dec. 9, 2015)
21: KURT ELLING
Raw Talent, Naked Ambition (March 23, 1997)
Coming Home to Chicago (Oct. 18, 2020)
22: KEN VANDERMARK
"Genius" Grant (June 23, 1999)
Sounds Never Heard Before (Sept. 8, 2002)
23: ORBERT DAVIS
The Turning Point (Nov. 24, 1995)
The Chicago River Gets Jazzed (May 27, 2013)
24: KAHIL EL'ZABAR
Still Pushing Boundaries (Nov. 2, 2003)
Trafficking in Creativity (Oct. 19, 1997)
25: ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO
Neglected at Home (Dec. 14, 1997)
Return to Mandel Hall (May 3, 2004)
EPILOGUE: Not Enough Time
Acknowledgments
Discography
Index
