Musical Performance
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Stretching out the Boundaries of Jazz: 10 years of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival.
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival celebrates its 10th Anniversary with three dozen performances and programs on 11 stages across the neighborhood this weekend. Many of the performances, to their credit, lack easy categorization, and truly exemplify the spirit of Jazz from the South Side of Chicago (multi-layered, collaborative, and connected to the community).
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Ready. Set. Spin: DJ Ayana out and about.
Here in Chicago, summer is wrapping up. But, before it ends, come to one of the FREE-fifty events I’ll be spinning at (many of which are outside). Click here for more info….
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Opportunity Please Knock Chorus: oscar brown, jr.’s collaboration with the blackstone rangers
In 1967, members of the Blackstone Rangers, a notorious Gang in Chicago, collaborated with singer/composer/playwright/activist Oscar Brown Jr. to create a Musical Revue called “Opportunity Please Knock”. About eight thousand people went to the show during the first weeks of performance (at Chicago’s First Presbyterian Church). Photos in this post are from that first run.…
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Yesterday and Tomorrow (it’s a chicago thing): David Boykin Trio at Danny’s featuring DJ Ayana
Below, one of the great Chicago recordings that I’ll feature. check out a bit of David’s work below.
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You’re Tuff Enough: junior wells’ new breed blues
The title cut off this 1968 album is a bluesy monster produced by Charles Stepney with more than enough groove to stay squarely in the pocket. Also on this album is the local hit “Up in Heah”, another blues-infused party track. Both of the records will make sceptics rethink the blues. According to the back…
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Dakar by Way of Chicago: omar pene & yassa
This Saturday, Senegal’s Omar Pene is in Chicago performing at Martyrs (3855 N. Lincoln). A former member of Super Diamono, a 70s Senegalese band that addressed social issues with funk, he is now solo… and in fine form. His voice has been described as both muscular and “islamic”, and the concert promises to be a treat.…
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Stand With Haiti!!
Stand with Haiti!! An Evening of Food, Poets (including Lady Terror), Musicians, and Dancers Gathered to Support Those Devastated by the Earthquake in Haiti. DJ Ayana on the tables. Thursday, Jan. 21, 6:00pm – 8:45pm Thorne Auditorium 357 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL Free admission, donations requested. Food/Drink: 6-7pm Program: 7:15-8:45pm ALL Proceeds will be donated…
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Passing Strange: a righteous afro-rock opera
“Passing Strange“, the Tony-nominated black rock-opera is righteous…. Amen. Passing Strange is the coming-of-age story of “Youth” (Daniel Breaker), a kid growing up somewhere in LA in the seventies. He is disillusioned because he doesn’t fit the common definition of blackness. Floating above the city, getting high in his choir director’s blue Volkswagen beetle, “Youth” decides to…
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Mos Def Performs Billie Jean in Chicago
Recorded at the House of Blues here in Chicago a few days back. It’s Mos Def, and his homage to the gloved one: a fresh interpretation of “Billie Jean”. Somehow, it works. Invention isn’t dead, after all. Jive on!
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Fame: Cult Movie of the Week
Fame (1980) is one of those movies that makes you wish you lived in a world so filled with youthful fervor that at anytime a group of kids might break into interpretive dance and jump on a cab. We don’t. But that didn’t keep us from cheering for the characters in the film (especially Coco…
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