One of the great success stories of 2006 was the emergence of Tammy McCann as a leading Chicago vocalist.
Triply blessed with jazz, gospel and classical techniques, McCann played a breakout show at HotHouse last May that announced her arrival as a leading singer.
Because she had spent many years working in Europe, she never had acquired the reputation that she deserved back home. And though she had been playing neighborhood festivals in Chicago, she never received the marquee billing that a talent of her caliber merits.
That all changed with her HotHouse engagement, McCann radically redefining Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day,” whimsically re-imagining “The Girl from Ipanema” as “The Boy from Ipanema” and bringing operatic grandeur to “When I Fall In Love” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life.”
McCann has been performing busily since around Chicago — and across the country — since then, but this weekend she returns to the scene of her earlier triumph, HotHouse.
Considering that she’ll be backed by such formidable Chicagoans as tenor saxophonist Ari Brown, drummer Ernie Adams and bassist Eric Hochberg, this could be a key performance.
Tammy McCann plays at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo Drive; $10; phone 312-362-9707.
Also worth catching:
Saxophonist Pat Mallinger plays at 9 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway; $10-$12; 773-878-5552.
Vocalist Dee Alexander performs at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Rd.; $10-$20; 312-791-9050.
The Roy Hargrove Big Band and Small Band, with guests Hank Jones and Slide Hampton, play at 8 p.m. Friday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $24-$64; 312-294-3000.
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hreich@tribune.com
