The Jazz Posse
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
But the truth is that the local scene is as strong as ever, and these kinds of setbacks are nothing new. Since the early 90s, when Ken Vandermark’s regular gig at the original HotHouse in Wicker Park became the nucleus of a young free-jazz community in Chicago, up-and-coming musicians have relied on the kind of venues that are likely to fold if audiences dwindle or property taxes jump–Urbus Orbis, Xoinx, the Nervous Center, the Candlestick Maker, and many others have all come and gone. There is something noteworthy about this round of bad news, though, and that’s the coordinated response to it. Vandermark, saxophonist Dave Rempis, drummer Mike Reed, and cornetist Josh Berman, along with fan-turned-booker Mitch Cocanig, have formed a cooperative called Umbrella Music that will help bookers and presenters share resources, cross-promote concerts, and organize extended engagements with visiting musicians. Members of Umbrella are the prime movers behind new series at the Hideout, the Storefront Theater, and 3030’s successor, Elastic.
Reed asked Hideout co-owner Tim Tuten if his club could help pick up the slack, and Tuten jumped at the chance. “I’ve been wanting to do jazz, and I felt it was important for the Hideout to participate in it,” he says. He approached Vandermark about playing a month of Wednesdays at the club–as part of a residency series that had previously featured mostly indie bands–and Vandermark offered to book an ongoing weekly engagement instead. The new series, called “Immediate Sound” and curated by Vandermark and Cocanig, started April 5, and the Hideout has committed to it for at least six months. Vandermark has also invited local musicians to DJ before and after the sets. “We want to make it a more socially connected thing,” he says.
The Empty Bottle remains a player too–it recently hosted Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake opening for drummer Steve Reid with Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden. Instead of setting aside every Wednesday, the club’s now restricting itself to occasional jazz shows and making room for them wherever they’ll fit. The festival that isn’t happening this spring may end up on the books for the fall. “Jazz is very important to the Empty Bottle and to me,” says owner Bruce Finkelman. “We want to continue to help the jazz scene grow in Chicago as much as we’re able.”
