As the summer days begin to cool, there is still the heat from jazz bubbling in Millennium Park. The Chicago Jazz Festival is in its 46th year and is still exciting. Some musicians have been playing for decades, while the upstarts carry on the great tradition rooted in and bred by our beautiful city.
Thursday's opening night featured two mainstage acts. Chicago-born and Memphis-bred guitarist Henry Johnson opened the evening with echoes of Wes Montgomery and a tribute to some of the great musicians he has accompanied in his career. Johnson was backed by the great Billy Foster on piano, Mark Sonksen on bass, Charles Heath on drums, and Thaddeus Tukes on the vibes. Johnson introduced each of them with great love and respect. He has known Foster and Sonksen for years. He has known Heath and Tukes since they were kids and watched them grow into great musicians in their own right.
Johnson played a Core Collection H17 hollow body guitar. It has a similar resonance and echo to Wes Montgomery's modified Gibson. For me, they evoke the feeling of beaches, sunsets, and the sounds of the '60s on our family stereo. Johnson has played with some of my favorite singers, including Joe Williams and Nancy Wilson. Johnson has a fine voice. He sang a Nancy Wilson classic, "The More I See You", and prefaced it with lines from her great hit "Guess Who I Saw Today?" I can hear the influences of Williams and Billy Eckstine in his style—perfect enunciation and phrasing.
I watched Billy Foster's long and graceful fingers glide over the keys effortlessly. It looks laid back, but he was putting down some serious notes. Sonksen is a journeyman bass player, also playing with a steady rhythm and incredible ease. Heath may be one of the ones known from his high school days, but he is a seasoned veteran and a beast on those drums. He played with Ramsey Lewis and one of my favorites from the days of the Bulls Jazz Club- Ken Chaney.
Thaddeus Tukes is new to me, but I will be following his career and look forward to more music from him. He started as a piano prodigy but took up the vibraphone, inspired by Lionel Hampton. Players like Tukes don't come along that often. He has a silky style and infuses the music with palpable emotion.
Johnson and the band also gave tribute ot Ramsey Lewis with a dazzling take on "The In Crowd." I recall that another great Chicago musician played drums on that recording. His name was Maurice White from Earth, Wind, and Fire. Chicago is the canvas from which so many greats have emerged. You never know where they will be, but I recommend checking out the Jazz clubs that still run hot. You can see some of these musicians at The Jazz Showcase, Winters Club, and the venerable Green Mill.
Esperanza Spalding was the headliner for day one at the Pritzker Pavilion. She made an entrance in a diaphanous eyelet gown, looking every inch the mischievous sprite. She started the show at the piano as Veruca Salt with "I Want It All" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Spalding alluded to a particular resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as the Veruca Salt character, one seeking world domination; she also reminded the audience that a creature is like the water from which it emerges.
Spalding's lyrics are like spells and incantations. She offered a spell to the audience to loosen them up and allow them to experience her music. Her lyrics are wild stream-of-consciousness concoctions sung in her sweet soprano with echoes of Joni Mitchell and Björk. She cautions people against using technology as a substitute for the gospel and the Source. Her music is funk-infused and what I call retro afro-futurist. She gave a shout-out to the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) with inspiration from the Sun Ra Arkestra.
Spalding's band was all virtuosic and entirely in the groove. It was Matthew Stevens on guitar, Eric Doob on drums, and the prodigious Morgan Guerin on Hammond organ, saxophone, and synthesizer. Their version of Wayne Shorter's "Endangered Species" had lyrics approved by Shorter. Spalding worked with Shorter and was told that he did not like people putting lyrics to his music. His response to Spalding's addition was, "That's what I'm talking about!"
We got the complete Spalding oeuvre on opening night. Jazz, soul, funk, and silky Brazilian infusions filled the park. Spalding has worked with artists Milton Nascimento and Joe Lovano and has even opened for Prince. Her musicianship is on point. She plays the double bass and the electric bass with equal acuity and flair. She and her band were a joy to watch. She ended her set with a tribute to her father, brothers, uncles, and nephews. "Black Gold" is a hymn to the men in her life and how precious they are to her. It was a beautiful end to the first day of the 2025 Chicago Jazz Festival.
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