sounds of Chicago
One-word review: Wow!
DKV Trio (Hamid Drake [MCOTD Hall of Fame], drums; Kent Kessler, bass; Ken Vandermark, reeds), live, Chicago, 12/26/25
First Set
*****
Second Set
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random sights
lagniappe
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
basement jukebox
Sonny Boy Williamson (AKA Aleck [or Alex] “Rice” Miller, 1912[?]-1965), “Nine Below Zero” (S. B. Williamson), 1951
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois (Conservatory)
my back pages
On a cold, snowy night forty-nine years ago, at a church thirty miles north of Chicago, my wife, Suzanne, and I were married. Tenor saxophonist Von Freeman (1923-2012, MCOTD Hall of Fame) and pianist John Young (1922-2008) provided the music, playing before the ceremony (“Over the Rainbow,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “More”); during (Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” [unaccompanied saxophone], as Suzanne walked down the aisle), and after (“My Favorite Things,” “Song for My Father”). All of what they played that night can be heard here (0:14-).
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
sounds of Chicago (in Louisiana)
Soul Stirrers (Jesse J. Farley, Johnny Jones, Martin Jacox, Arthur Crume, Rufus Crume), live (“That’s Heaven To Me,” “When the Gates Swing Open,” “Wade in The Water,” “Sermonette,” “Free at Last,” “Resting Easy”), Louisiana, 1972
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
basement jukebox
Sonny Boy Williamson II (aka Alex [or Aleck] Miller, 1912-1965, vocals, harmonica), “Help Me” (S. Williamson, et al.), 1963
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
Singer-songwriters? Most I tire of before they begin. This guy I could listen to all night.
Daniel Knox (1980-), live (begins 15:10), Chicago (Constellation), 1/3/26
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Illinois
basement jukebox
Magic Sam (AKA Samuel Maghett, 1937-1969), “Everything Gonna Be Alright,” 1958
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
passings
Steve Cropper, guitarist, songwriter, producer, October 21, 1941 – December 3, 2025
Booker T. & the M.G.’s, live, New York, 1991
*****
Phil Upchurch, guitarist, July 19, 1941 – November 23, 2025
With Booker T. & the M.G.’s, “Love and Peace,” live (TV show), published 2010
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), annual Day of the Dead exhibit
timeless
John Fahey (1939-2001, guitar), “Poor Boy Long Ways From Home” (trad.), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1978
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Columbus Park)
what’s new(ish)
Chicago Underground Duo (Chad Taylor, drum kit, percussion, mbira, kalimba; Rob Mazurek, trumpet, piccolo trumpet, RMI electric piano, modular synths, samplers, voice, flutes, bells), “Hyperglyph” (video by Rob Mazurek), published 9/17/25
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Columbus Park)
music clip of the day 