All About Jazz laments the decline of several venerable Chicago jazz venues and puts out a heartfelt plea for this magnificent art form this weekend:
From PERFORMANCE/TOUR: Chicago Jazz Scene
The Jazz Showcase, the area’s biggest jazz venue closed its doors at the end of 2007 after they were not able to renew their lease. Now the HotHouse, Chicago second largest venue that was beginning to pick up the slack with out the Showcase around is closed. Northwestern just canceled their jazz program at the end of the last school year.
Jazz is no longer on the radio in Chicago with WBEZ (corrected–see below) 91.5 cutting all of their jazz programing. What is going on? Won’t somebody step up to help this art form from dissolving in a city that arguably is the birth place on modern jazz: a company, a philanthropist, and government, a school, anyone? These are truly dark days for the first truly American art form. We hope for better days ahead.
They go on to list what’s happening on the Chicago scene in the venues that are still active. Read more here.
Correction: the Jazz Showcase has, in fact, reopened–see comment below.
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First of all, the Jazz Showcase has re-opened in its best venue ever, in the South Loop. Northwestern has a newly revamped jazz studies program under the direction of Victor Goines. I just happened to have run into Marguerite Horberg, the founder of the HotHouse, and she told me that they are actively seeking a new home. And finally, there isn’t a radio station “WPEZ” in Chicago. Though I’m not happy that WBEZ is no longer featuring jazz, we do have WDCB, which programs jazz about 10 hours a day. If you’re going to bemoan, at least get your facts straight.
Thanks for the update Bill. I was admittedly concerned because it sounded so dire. For jazz radio KKJZ over here in L.A. streams online for free. http://www.jazzandblues.org