Everything Plus

Pssssst.  What do you like most about summer in the city?  Beautiful surroundings. Top flight music.  A cold beer or a nice refreshing glass of wine on a beautiful summer night.  Good food.  A vibrant crowd.  Sinking into a polished vibe.  It’s all there every summer Tuesday night in the Museum of Contemporary Art’s backyard.  And there’s no charge.

After climbing the museum’s broad and imposing front stairs, shoot straight to the back to what’s formally known as the terrace.  A staple of summer for well over a decade, Tuesday’s on the Terrace has become even more suave since the space got a glamourous revamp a few years back.  Despite its sleek and refined good looks, it’s still as comfortable as your favorite hoodie and pretense free.

Depending on what your major objectives are for the evening, there are at least five different outdoor “rooms” or spaces to hang while listening to the featured music which is always jazz.  Running from 5:30 to 8p, everything hums with the precision of an atomic clock.  Music starts promptly (usually) at 5:30 for a one hour set.  There’s a half hour break and another set starts at 7. 

If you’re there for the music, about 200 very comfortable chairs in the colors of rainbow sherbet sit right in front of the impromptu non-elevated “stage”.  The seats go fast and the music is always jazz.  The bodies filling those chairs tend to be avid jazz heads and as such, are tremendously respectful to the musicians and the music.  Boisterous in their approval and otherwise quiet.

But with so many places to gather, the setting is still ideal for socializing.  How can you beat meeting friends after work or before dinner gathered around a table and surrounded by the towers of the Magnificent Mile; cab, chard or cold one in hand.  Stylish tables flood the rear of the terrace and high caliber speakers bring the music to you.

Same for the grassy lawn at the bottom of the terrace steps on the furthest east side of the property.  Outdoor chairs and picnic blankets rule this space but the same sense of relaxed chill prevails.  A concession selling generous portions of food and beverages does a brisk business on the north wall.

You would expect to find this jewel at its finest when all of the night’s components are in perfect harmony.  When the temperature and the breeze feel like a Polynesian dream, when the crowd is as affable as it is charming and when the music is astounding.  This ideal alignment is not rare.  Just check the weather and the roster before you head out if you want to ensure the most from the evening.  Mother Nature and James Sanders and Conjunto delivered all you could hope for and more last week (July 9^th) as he grafted Latin rhythms onto jazz’s solid gold bones on a beautiful balmy night.

As you can see below, there are still a lot of Tuesdays left in this summer’s line up to catch the magic:

Jul 16               Joshua Abrams and Chad Taylor

Jul 23               Tatsu Aoki’s The Miyomi Project

Jul 30               Maggie Brown

Aug 6               Victor Garcia Organ Quintet

Aug 13             Carolyn Fitzhugh Quintet

Aug 20             Ben LaMar Gay

Aug 27             Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few

Sep 3               Art Turk Burton and the Congo Square Ensemble

Sep 10             Julius Tucker Trio

Sept 17            Thaddeus Tukes on the Vibes

Sep 24             Junius Paul

Museum of Contemporary Art

Tuesdays on the Terrace

220 E. Chicago Ave.

Chicago, IL  60611

312-280-2660

www.mcachicago.org