A simmering enthusiasm for jazz pushed me into finding the gumption to write about it. This has been great--even if describing a saxophone tone without using the word “plangent” is always a challenge. There is certainly no greater means of continually discovering how fertile the contemporary jazz scene is than writing about new jazz CDs, reviewing shows and interviewing artists--even if I find myself struggling to find the time to listen to, say, an old Jelly Roll Morton record. I live in Chicago.

Home
Chicago, IL

My Desert Island Picks

1. Miles Davis - Filles de Kilimanjaro
2. Tortoise - TNT
3. Andrew Hill - Point of Departure
4. Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard/Waltz for Debby
5. Mat Maneri - Sustain
6. Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
7. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
8. Sonny Rollins - Plus Four
9. Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners
10. King Crimson - Red
11. Dave Holland Quartet - Conference of the Birds
12. Derek Bailey/George Lewis/John Zorn - Yankees
13. Miles Davis - Miles Smiles
14. Bjork - Homogenic
15. David Murray Trio - The Hill
16. Vijay Iyer - Reimagining
17. Art Ensemble of Chicago - Fanfare for the Warriors
18. Steely Dan - The Royal Scam
19. Steve Reich (Kronos Quartet, Pat Metheny) - Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint
20. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love
21. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

What I'm Listening To Now (As of 2009-02-26)

1. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
2. Donny McCaslin - In Pursuit
3. James Blood Ulmer - Bad Blood in the City: the Piety Street Sessions
4. David Torn - Presenz
5. Charles Mingus - In Paris: the Complete America Session
6. Kurt Elling - Nightmoves
7. Barry Romberg's Random Access - Part Six: Big Giant Head
8. Theo Bleckmann, Ben Monder - At Night
9. Bjork - Volta
10. Joshua Redman - Back East
11. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
12. Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake - From the River to the Ocean
13. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
14. The Bad Plus - Prog
15. Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior
16. Big Satan - Livein Cognito
17. Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3

Favorite Web Sites

• Umbrella Music - Chicago's improv posse unites for great events such as the stuff at Elastic and Hideout, to name two of the venues
• Elastic Arts Foundation - Fantastic Improvised Music Series (and a good deal more) in Chicago's Logan Square
• The Hideout - Fantastic Immediate Sound new-jazz series on Wednesday nights at this Chicago club/bar/hangout
• Velvet Lounge - Fred Anderson's Chicago club; Relocated, reopened!
• Wes Cleaver photography - Chicago's greatest photographer--check out his work online!
• Bjork website - the name says it all
• AACM - Chicago's historic musical collective
• Salon Magazine - my news source

Favorite Contributors
John Gilbert