Ayanna Woods has had her music performed by Third Coast Percussion, featured in the theater project No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, and broadcast on the Emmy-nominated show Brown Girls, but the funky, far-reaching R&B she makes with her band Yadda Yadda has a special place in her heart. Woods started writing some of the songs on her upcoming The Yadda Yadda EP in high school, and she calls them “a home to me over the years.” She’s received a Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events grant to buy studio time, and on Friday she began fundraising via 3Arts to pay her band. She hit her goal of $3,750 within 48 hours (she set it low, because she had to reach it to get anything at all), and now she’s trying to double it by Monday, June 7. Paying her band is no small feat, because the lineup includes guitarist Sam Hasting, drummers Jimmy Pinkl and Eddie Burns, trumpeter Ben LaMar Gay, keyboardist Nolan Chin, cellist Lia Kohl, and violinist Macie Stewart—and that’s not even everyone! Contributor rewards include social media shout-outs, signed posters, and (if you pony up $500) a 30-second thank-you song.
If you’ve seen the book Overtime: The Jazz Photographs of Milt Hinton, you know that the legendary bassist captured the action behind some of the most important jazz performances of all time. Inspired by Hinton’s work, local guitarist Scott Hesse has documented his own career in a similar way. On Friday, May 7, an exhibit of Hesse’s photos, along with snaps from drummer Alvin Cobb, guitarist Steve Kaiser, and saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, opens at Fulton Street Collective. Due to COVID-19, viewings are limited—you need a ticket via FSC’s website or Eventbrite.
On Friday, April 30, veteran underground Chicago hip-hop act Pseudo Slang will drop Live From the Qtine, a full-length collab with German producer Pawcut. The early tracks sound leisurely and divine! v
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