Corey Wilkes Archives - Chicago Reader

Emma Hospelhorn, aka Em Spel, seated at a desk in front of a tall bookshelf, her eyes cast down at her hands on the desk

Emma Hospelhorn of Ensemble dal Niente releases a scintillating solo debut as Em Spel

by J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil May 18, 2022May 18, 2022

Gossip Wolf always likes to hear about a new solo album from a member of Ensemble dal Niente—the long-running local contemporary-classical corps has built a spotless reputation for adventurous programming and technical excellence, and its members often pop up in far-flung musical contexts around town. Among the most prolific is multi-instrumentalist Emma Hospelhorn, who has […]

Black and white photo of the Kahil El’Zabar Quartet laughing together in the recording studio

Music

Percussionist and bandleader Kahil El’Zabar starts his sixth decade of making restorative rhythms

by Leor Galil January 26, 2022January 17, 2022

It’s probably not possible to give a brief overview of Kahil El’Zabar’s resumé—the Chicago jazz percussionist has been a crucial part of the city’s musical heritage since he joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians at age 18 in the early 1970s. (He also served the AACM as its chairman for a few […]

Music

Jumaane Taylor, tap dancer

by Philip Montoro October 15, 2020August 18, 2021

“I’ve been on this journey to be able to present within the jazz community. . . . To be a union of creative beauty.”

Music

Chicago’s September jazz festivals cope with COVID

by Bill Meyer August 27, 2020August 18, 2021

The city is replacing the Chicago Jazz Festival with a slimmed-down online event, while the smaller, nimbler Hyde Park Jazz Festival plans to try pop-up in-person shows.

Music

Legendary percussionist Kahil El’Zabar brings the Afrocentric spiritual-jazz explorations of his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble to Evanston

by Steve Krakow January 31, 2020August 18, 2021

Prolific musician Kahil El’Zabar has hardly gone unnoticed, but I wish every music fan knew about this living legend. The son of a drummer, El’Zabar was born Clifton Blackburn in Chicago in 1953, and raised on the city’s south side. He joined the Association of the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) at age 18, and […]

Music

Veteran Chicago bassist Junius Paul celebrates the release of his first album

by Bill Meyer December 21, 2019August 18, 2021

The band is already midflight as the sound fades up at the beginning of “You Are Free to Choose,” the opening track of the Junius Paul double LP Ism (International Anthem). Perhaps unintentionally, this parallels his career, which has also been in motion for some time. The Chicago-born-and-raised bassist first performed in 2002 at Fred […]