I have seen the excellent Chicago jazz bassist Kelly Sill in action recently, and I have to say that I am quite impressed. Seeing Kelly reminded me of my student days at Northwestern University. I remember many performances with Kelly and former Northwestern University jazz faculty member Mike Kocour. Mike is a brilliant pianist who toiled in the bowels of Northwestern University’s Regenstein Hall, teaching jazz improv to jazz majors and classical squares (like me) alike.

Mike recently was appointed Associate Professor at Arizona State University (where the excellent double bassist Catalin Rotaru also teaches), and that was a very smart hire on ASU’s part. It was Chicago’s loss but Arizona’s gain, and Mike is probably having a lot more fun playing golf in the sun down there than shoveling snow in the dark up here.

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