As the Art Ensemble of Chicago celebrates 50 years by headlining Jazz Fest, its leader continues to innovate with a new generation of musicians. BY MARK GUARINO PUBLISHED AUG. 26, 2019, AT 9:29 A.M. When the Art Ensemble of Chicago plays the Chicago Jazz Festival this [...]

The new CD honors the South and West Sides’ vibrant small-label scene. For many, it’s also unearthed rich cross-generational connections. BY MARK GUARINO PUBLISHED DEC. 18, 2019 When Houston Harrington Jr. was a child, he often wondered about his name. Who was Houston Harrington Sr.? “Your [...]

Chicago’s role as a hub for innovative black musicians from the 1960s to the ’80s has been underappreciated, according to a new book. Here’s what we learned. BY MARK GUARINO PUBLISHED SEPT. 25, 2019 1. Soul provided an avenue for black entrepreneurship. As the genre’s popularity [...]

Chris Ligon probably had a worse year than you. He spun his misery into Miss America, a new record out this week. BY MARK GUARINO PUBLISHED NOV. 4, 2019 Chris Ligon has a 40-year method of writing songs: He hits chords on the piano while meditating, waiting [...]

The clarinetist–composer’s new work is a corrective to repeated handwringing about the genre’s future. BY MARK GUARINO PUBLISHED SEPT. 24, 2019 In just a few years, Angel Bat Dawid has emerged as one of the most compelling figures in Chicago’s free jazz scene. The clarinetist–composer has [...]

Reed’s stunning new album, Flesh and Bone, reflects the experience of everyday prejudice. BY MARK GUARINO If the best jazz is born of trauma, Mike Reed’s Flesh and Bone is an extreme example. The 42-minute album (out August 25) was inspired by a violent run-in the drummer had with [...]

The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic artistic director talks about the uniqueness of his orchestra and how it’ll honor Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk. BY MARK GUARINO For 11 years, the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic has been the only professional symphonic jazz organization in the country. Ahead of [...]

An intimate new memoir from Chicago's most beloved bluesman By MARK GUARINO | Chicago Magazine The title of Buddy Guy's must-read autobiography, When I Left Home (out May 23 from Da Capo Press, $26), suggests a straightforward account of the blues guitarist's life, from his childhood [...]

The 25-year-old Evanston native's debut album is a bruising, beguiling journey By Mark Guarino That bloody nose on the cover of Ezra Furman's debut solo album, The Year of No Returning, couldn't be the result of foul play, right? The Furman we know is a lover, [...]

POWER CHORD: The soul music legend and the Wilco frontman record a new album together By MARK GUARINO | Chicago Magazine Mavis Staples has worked with some of the finest names in music: Bob Dylan, The Band, Booker T. and the MGs, Prince. Topping the list [...]