Live Jazz Rising

Stirring back to life, Chicago’s jazz scene is taking careful and cautious steps to regain its former strength and vigor.  It doesn’t look like it’s going to be an easy recovery.  Phase 4, Illinois’ Revitalization phase, is significant.  Gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed, effectively greenlighting arts related entities to finally open their doors for business.  The question is whether the pleasures derived from a live music experience will offset the restrictions necessary to keep everyone safe.  

Any jazz head will tell you they’d love to have twice as many live venues for listening to their favorite type of music than they currently do.  Blessed with a fistful of revered haunts to enjoy this distinctly American art form, most of Chicago’s jazz enclaves rolled out their welcome mats at the end of June and early July with new policies in place and fingers crossed.  The Green Mill, the Jazz Showcase and Andy’s all now have live indoor performances. The presence of musicians on stages is a big step in the right direction. 

But a lot looks different.  Andy’s, around for 70 years and featuring the city’s finest jazz acts for the past 50 of them, lists conditions for visiting the club on its website. Masks up and temperatures checked on entry. Masks can come off when seated. Please wash hands 20 seconds if a visit to restroom is needed and masks go back on whenever you’re on your feet and moving around.  Of course, seating is socially distanced.  The first night’s crowd was tiny.

The Green Mill and the Jazz Showcase have strikingly similar conditions in place to comply with state mandates; they’re just not currently posted on the clubs’ websites. Highlighting the seriousness of the plight of all jazz clubs, Andy’s also provided a link to its GoFundMe page.  A chilling reminder that the future of live jazz in Chicago is anything but guaranteed.

That the past weekend was also slow at the Green Mill who was featuring a trio of trios from Friday to Sunday, was a little surprising.  Located a short distance from Northwestern University and convenient to the youthful habitats of Edgewater, Lakeview and Andersonville; its customer base can skew younger than many jazz clubs.  While threesomes dominated in Uptown, the ever-vibrant jazz vocalist Dee Alexander held court at the Jazz Showcase downtown on Plymouth Ct.  

With its outdoor patio seating and stage, Fitzgerald’s, in Berwyn; whose music format includes blues, indie and roots as well as jazz, got a head start re-entering the entertainment sphere.  For them its been a good experience.  Hand sanitizer is widespread, masks are encouraged when interacting with servers and mandated when moving through the outdoor space.  Reservations are not needed; but since opening, the space has been approaching its 80 to 100-person capacity.  Operators are pleased and customers have commented on how comfortable they feel on the safety conscious patio.  Fitzgerald’s first in-door engagement featuring Foursquare, a lusty shredder band, happens tonight at 7pm.