Returning the Call: More Jazz from Unsung Heroes of Chicago Hardbop

This program pairs nicely with Night Lights' "Chicago Calling: Unsung Heroes of the City's Hardbop Scene."  

Night Lights pays another visit to the 1950s and 60s era of Chicago hardbop, featuring some of the following artists:

Pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, who'd gain critical renown as a member of the groundbreaking 1960s Chicago avant-garde scene, worked frequently as a hardbop pianist in the 1950s, and was a part of one of the scene's best hardbop groups, the MJT + 3. Led by drummer Walter Perkins, later editions would feature Memphis transplants like Harold Mabern and George Coleman, but the first version included several of Chicago's best around-the-town players, including saxophonist Nicky Hill, trumpeter Paul Serrano, and Abrams, who also did a lot of writing for the group.

Tenor saxophonists Clifford Jordan and John Gilmore, like many other Chicago jazz musicians of note, were both taught as youths by the legendary Captain Walter Dyett at Chicago's DuSable High School on the South Side. In 1957 they teamed up for Blowin' In From Chicago, a Blue Note album that jazz critic Larry Kart calls "the Ground Zero" of late 1950s/early 1960s Chicago hardbop.

Pianists John Young and Eddie Higgins were two underrated but important presences on the Chicago jazz scene. (Not underrated in their hometown, though!) They held down house pianist positions at two important Chicago venues-the London House and the Jazz Showcase.

Saxophonist and trumpeter Ira Sullivan, like Eddie Higgins, had departed Chicago by the 1970s for the warmer environs of Florida. He remains rooted in and proud of his Chicago jazz heritage. "Everyone always said, ‘You gotta go get your New York stamp,' Sullivan said in 2007, looking back at his time in the city. "And I'd reply, ‘We lay in wait for cats from New York here.'"

Trumpeter Paul Serrano was a part of the first MJT + 3 group. He built an impressive resume as a sideman, working with Woody Herman, Billy Eckstine, blues and Latin bands, and even the Chicago Civic Symphony, but he hardly recorded at all as a leader, and he'd end up gaining more renown as a studio producer in the 1960s and 70s, helping to shape the sound of many Chicago soul, gospel, and blues records. In 1960 he made a record for Riverside that featured several Chicago stalwarts, including saxophonist Bunky Green.

This program pairs nicely with Night Lights' "Chicago Calling: Unsung Heroes of the City's Hardbop Scene."  

Night Lights pays another visit to the 1950s and 60s era of Chicago hardbop, featuring some of the following artists:

Pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, who'd gain critical renown as a member of the groundbreaking 1960s Chicago avant-garde scene, worked frequently as a hardbop pianist in the 1950s, and was a part of one of the scene's best hardbop groups, the MJT + 3. Led by drummer Walter Perkins, later editions would feature Memphis transplants like Harold Mabern and George Coleman, but the first version included several of Chicago's best around-the-town players, including saxophonist Nicky Hill, trumpeter Paul Serrano, and Abrams, who also did a lot of writing for the group.

Tenor saxophonists Clifford Jordan and John Gilmore, like many other Chicago jazz musicians of note, were both taught as youths by the legendary Captain Walter Dyett at Chicago's DuSable High School on the South Side. In 1957 they teamed up for Blowin' In From Chicago, a Blue Note album that jazz critic Larry Kart calls "the Ground Zero" of late 1950s/early 1960s Chicago hardbop.

Pianists John Young and Eddie Higgins were two underrated but important presences on the Chicago jazz scene. (Not underrated in their hometown, though!) They held down house pianist positions at two important Chicago venues-the London House and the Jazz Showcase.

Saxophonist and trumpeter Ira Sullivan, like Eddie Higgins, had departed Chicago by the 1970s for the warmer environs of Florida. He remains rooted in and proud of his Chicago jazz heritage. "Everyone always said, ‘You gotta go get your New York stamp,' Sullivan said in 2007, looking back at his time in the city. "And I'd reply, ‘We lay in wait for cats from New York here.'"

Trumpeter Paul Serrano was a part of the first MJT + 3 group. He built an impressive resume as a sideman, working with Woody Herman, Billy Eckstine, blues and Latin bands, and even the Chicago Civic Symphony, but he hardly recorded at all as a leader, and he'd end up gaining more renown as a studio producer in the 1960s and 70s, helping to shape the sound of many Chicago soul, gospel, and blues records. In 1960 he made a record for Riverside that featured several Chicago stalwarts, including saxophonist Bunky Green.