Though there were plenty of clinkers this year, the best jazz shows of the year reminded listeners why Chicago remains a focal point for new ideas in American music. Following is a chronological look back at several indelible performances:
Ed Wilkerson/Nikki Mitchell Quartet at HotHouse on Jan. 13: Anyone who follows the activities of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) knows of Wilkerson’s importance as composer-bandleader, but the relatively unfamiliar flutist Mitchell caught listeners by surprise. Here was a little-known but fully formed musician armed with a virtuoso’s technique, as well as a thorough knowledge of jazz, avant-garde and classical idioms.
Lester Bowie tribute at Hyde Park Union Church on Jan. 20: The all-star roster included Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, with guest guitarist Fareed Haque, baritone saxophonist Hammiet Bluiett, tenor saxophonist James Carter and avant-gardist Ken Vandermark’s 5. Together, they attracted a capacity crowd to pay homage to Bowie, despite sub-zero temperatures. The emotional intensity of the performances, as well as the eloquence of the spoken words, were fitting tributes to one of the more fearless iconoclasts of jazz in the late 20th Century.
Ken Vandermark’s Territory Band at the Empty Bottle on Feb. 2: For those who thought that the Chicago reedist was all fire and fury, the debut of Vandermark’s Territory Band pointed to a different sensibility — and attested to the musician’s expressive range and intellectual depth. In the most ambitious venture of his still developing career, Vandemark unveiled a large, experimental ensemble that played ingeniously conceived scores. It’s possible that the Territory Band ultimately will point to new directions in large jazz ensemble writing.
Marvin Tate’s D-Settlement at the Old Town School of Folk Music on March 11: Though opening for better-known Chicagoans (Ken Nordine and Howard Levy), Tate’s freewheeling, genre-bending D-Settlement practically stole the show. The ensemble’s bold merger of jazz and funk instrumentals, gospel-tinged song and unabashedly political poetry proved fresh and energizing. This is a band that deserves national exposure.
Bobby Broom at Pete Miller’s Steakhouse in Evanston on April 11: After several years touring with Dr. John, the superb Chicago guitarist left the road and began playing regularly around his hometown again. The lyric grace and constant invention of Broom’s playing in his standing engagement at Pete Miller’s Steakhouse affirmed that Dr. John’s loss was Chicago’s gain.
Ute Lemper at the Chicago Theatre on April 15: No, she’s not a jazz singer, but as an interpreter of jazz-tinged work by everyone from Kurt Weill/Bertold Brecht to The Divine Comedy, Lemper has no peer. She proved it in this stunning show, moving with apparent ease from dramatic soliloquies to howling arias to swing-based pop.
AACM 35th Anniversary Concert at the Museum of Contemporary Art on April 29: The Chicago-based AACM celebrates its achievements in a major way every five years, but never before had the organization staged its festival in a venue as prominent as the Museum of Contemporary Art. More important, the performances — which stretched from April 26 through 30 — attested to the continued vitality of the organization, as well as its considerable drawing power. The high point came on April 29, with Douglas R. Ewart and Inventions playing two sprawling works as an “Homage to the Ancestors,” an orgy of brass, reed, wind, rhythm and vocal improvisation.
Dave Holland Quintet at the Jazz Showcase on May 9: The bassist has played in several of the most important jazz groups of the past 25 years, so perhaps one shouldn’t have been surprised at the sonic appeal and musical ferocity of his newest band. Yet Holland has achieved something special with this group, featuring bristling counterpoint from front-line players Chris Potter on tenor saxophone and Robin Eubanks on trombone, fueled by aggressive rhythm from Billy Kilson on drums, Steve Nelson on vibes and, of course, Holland on bass. In all, a trio with as much brains as brawn.
Maraca at SummerDance on July 13: Aficionados of Afro-Cuban music already knew that Maraca — whose full name is Orlando “Maraca” Valle — is one of the most brilliant young flutists in jazz. But perhaps no one was prepared for the virtuosity, stylistic breadth and rhythmic complexity at the command of his newest ensemble, Otra Vision. Its Chicago debut performance at the new SummerDance space, on South Michigan Avenue, reminded a huge audience that dance music can be as technically brilliant and musically sophisticated as its concert-hall counterpart.
Kevin Cole at the Ravinia Festival on July 20: Possibly the best Gershwin pianist in America, Cole has performed frequently in Chicago, where he lives, but rarely with orchestra. Finally, listeners heard him playing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra conducted by David Allen Miller. It was the freshest, most convincing “Rhapsody” heard in this city in years, and these forces ought to collaborate for a recording of all Gershwin’s works for piano and orchestra.
Sir Charles Thompson at the Jazz Showcase on Aug. 1: The octogenarian pianist, best known for penning the bebop-era standard “Robbins’ Nest,” somehow has managed to retain the rhythmic agility and digital fluidity of a man half his age. Fortunately, the proceedings were taped for an exuberant new recording, “Sir Charles Thompson: Robbins’ Nest Live at the Jazz Showcase” (Delmark).
David Sanchez at the Jazz Showcase on Oct. 10: No ensemble today combines the vernacular of Latin jazz with the impulses of jazz improvisation more rigorously than the band that appears on Sanchez’s brilliant “Melaza” recording. Remarkably, Sanchez has been taking the entire sextet on the road, an expensive proposition that yielded extraordinary artistic results in this performance. The layering of rhythm, subtlety of color and intricacy of texture were nearly overwhelming to behold.
Pat Martino at the Jazz Showcase on Dec. 5: Playing his first Chicago date in more than 20 years, Martino produced some of the most rhythmically aggressive, melodically inspired guitar playing in jazz today. No wonder the house was filled with guitarists, who applauded more enthusiastically than anyone else.
