Musicians and journalists will talk about “Chicago’s greatest hits” in a series produced of listening sessions starting January 24 and being held monthly, free, at the downtown 
Cultural Center, the result of a partnership between the Jazz Journalists Association and the Jazz Institute of Chicago.
The 90-minute sessions, entitled “Digging Our Roots,” will be seminar-style interactive discussions led by two panelists drawn from Chicago’s rich musical community.
Veteran radio show host Richard Steele and saxophonist Eric Schneider will dig into the 1920s and ’30s music of Louis Armstrong and Earl “Fatha” Hines on Thursday, Jan. 24, starting at 5:30 pm in the Bronzeville Stage area of the jewelbox Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street (between Michigan and Wabash avenues).
Schneider toured and recorded with Hines from 1978 to ’81 (Hines died in April 1983) and subsequently played in the Count Basie Orchestra. Steele retired from WBEZ in 2014 after 27 years at the NPR station. He began his midwest radio career at WGRT in 1970, was program directed when it was renamed WJPC, and also has been heard on WBMX, WVON, WGCI AM and FM, WVAZ FM, and Vocalo, where he broadcast live from Carter’s Barbership in the North Lawndale neighborhood.
The two will analyze selections from Armstrong and Hines’ classic recordings, including “West End Blues” and rarer tracks. JJA president Howard Mandel, curating the series, will solicit questions from an audience in the intimate Bronzeville space.
On February 22, JJA member and longtime DownBeat correspondent John McDonough will partner with roots blues and boogie pianist Erwin Helfer in consideration of Jelly Roll Morton’s Chicago breakthroughs. March 21 WBEZ and Vocalo producer Ayana Contreras and keyboardist-bandleader Robert “Baabe” Irving III, best known for his work with Miles Davis, will highlight Chicago’s jazz-inflected r&b/pop stars Earth Wind & Fire, Minnie Riperton and Curtis Mayfield. April 25 tenor saxophonist Juli Wood and JJA photographer/writer/musician Michael Jackson will delve into the styles of Chicago’s famed tenor saxophonists including Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin and Von Freeman. May 23 blues harmonica star Billy Branch and WDCB program host Leslie Keros will present the best of Chicago blues players Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Junior Wells.
“There’s a feeling here that young people haven’t heard the music that defines Chicago,” said Mandel,” and whether that’s accurate or not, the recordings we’ll listen to always are enjoyable and reveal new pleasures with repeated listening. I expect lively interaction between the panelists and attendees, and encourage other JJA members to explore partnerships with local entities that can result in this kind of low cost but highly engaging programs.”
The Jazz Institute, a non-profit grassroots community support organization, has been a frequent sponsor of the JJA’s Jazz Heroes and Jazz Awards initiatives; several of its leaders have been celebrated as JJA Jazz Heroes, and Mandel currently serves on the JIC board, as does JJA board member Neil Tesser. The Jazz Institute runs an extensive educational network, produces concerts and curates the annual Chicago Jazz Festival. Throughout 2019, its 50th anniversary year, the JIC is doubling down on programming, including also a film series programmed by the Chicago Film Society and a two-day birthday bash in June, held at the Logan Center on the University of Chicago campus. For further information, visit JazzInChicago.org.
