Miscellany

There's lots of great music to be had in Chicago around the holidays.

Nicole Mitchell is playing the Chicago debut of her Xenogenesis suite that she debuted at the Vision Festival this year at the Chicago Cultural Center this Friday on December 7th at 7 PM.

At the Velvet Lounge we have two rare appearances by Famoudou Don Moye of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, playing with his own group on the 10th and the 17th.

Dee Alexander and Warren Smith are doing an Abby Lincoln/Max Roach Freedom Now Tribute on the 14th and 15th.

Adam Rudolph and Hamid Drake are leading a group including Nicole Mitchell, Josh Abrams, and Jeff Parker on the 21st and 22nd.

Ms. Mitchell will also lead her own groups on the 28th and 29th.

Gerald Cleaver makes a rare Chicago appearance to play the Gallery 37 Downtown Sound series on December 17th.

Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang will play their annual Winter Solstice concerts at Links Hall on December 21st through 23rd, bright and early at 6 AM at Links Hall. If you've never been, it's a fantastic event and a great way to welcome the winter.

Peter Brötzmann continues his run of shows all over the city this week, including many members of his Chicago Tentet.

The Engines will play a record release show at the Hideout in support of their new release on Okka Disk.

Von Freeman will ring in 2008 at the Green Mill, as has become the tradition.

Not a bad run of music to close out the year.

In the meantime:

George E. Lewis is profiled in advance of a trip to Glasgow

Tyshawn Sorey is named a rookie of the year by Francis Davis. Mr. Davis also agrees with my assessment of Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers recording, which you may have read about recently here on the 'slope.

Dave Douglas has offered up a track for remixing. You can be sure I'm going to dub Moonshine into the stone age, and I'll post the results here.

The New York Times writes about what I've always suspected: rocks may have consciousness.

Amina Claudine Myers was profiled in advance of her visit to Vancouver.

More soon!