WInter Jazzfest in Swing

We are on the eve of the first WDCB/ MAC Winter Jazzfest. Actually the festivities began yesterday morning when some 600 plus school children dropped by the center to hear Tom Tallman and his big band perform KidJazz! The performance which focused on Duke Ellington was a smash and lots of smiling kids left the center humming on kazoos.

Tonight Orbert Davis, Ari Brown, and the Mambo Zombies take the stage and tomorrow Kurt Elling, Zvonimir Tot and Steve Ramsdell will perform. There is a Saturday AM performance of KidJazz so if you want to swing and blow a kazoo - stop by.

Jazz is such a rich part of American music. There was a panel this week of NEA Jazz Masters in New York where I was and I thought to myself we are so lucky to have great masters like Jimmy Cobb and Kenny Barron grace our stage, but we are also blessed to have young players like Ramsdell, Davis, and Elling swinging just as hard as the lions.

Special thanks to WDCB radio for being the home of Jazz in Chicago and our friend.

be well

Stephen