The Secret History of Chicago Music has produced plenty of offshoots over the 18 years that it’s run, and I’m pretty proud of some of them. I published the book My Kind of Sound: The Secret History of Chicago Music Compendium in 2016; I’ve facilitated reissues and archival releases of music by artists I’ve covered […]
Tag: John Corbett
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best impromptu spiritual-jazz show to celebrate what turned out not to be the end of the pandemic
When the pandemic shut down live music, Chicago gallery Corbett vs. Dempsey began presenting great online gigs via Experimental Sound Studio’s Quarantine Concerts series. I remember the excitement I felt when the gallery made a last-minute, low-key announcement, mostly to friends and supporters, that the sixth of its Sequesterfest livestreaming events would also be open […]
Posted inMusic
John Corbett celebrates his latest book with free barbecue and fantastic bands
John Corbett celebrates his latest book with free barbecue and fantastic bands, self-described “Bruce jazz” trio Poplife play a farewell-for-now show, and more.
Posted inArts & Culture
Lit recs for the recently repatriated Chicagoan
The current book obsessions of Reader editor in chief Anne Elizabeth Moore and writer, comedian, and artist Salem Collo-Julin.
Posted inArts & Culture
Art in Chicago may not be able to distill 150 years of history into one volume, but it sure looks good trying
Anyone involved in that history may be distracted by the gaps and omissions.
Posted inMusic
Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis builds an intentional community in jazz
Dave Rempis organizes concerts, mentors young musicians, and connects players from across the States and abroad—modeling the commitment and generosity that keep the jazz scene viable.
Posted inBlogs
Joe Biden’s American Promise Tour, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week
Andrew Bird at Fourth Presbyterian Church, and more goings-on about town the week of December 11-14.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago Craft Beer Festival, Cirque Du Soleil: Luzia, and more things to do in Chicago this weekend
John Corbett on Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium, and more happenings from July 21-23
Posted inBlogs
Chill summertime pop from a 1968 Steve Miller Band album
“Quicksilver Girl” sounded familiar when I heard it a few weeks ago, but I never would’ve guessed it’s from the Steve Miller Band’s Sailor.
Posted inBlogs
John Corbett’s love letters to record collecting, collected
Music critic, gallerist, and scholar John Corbett publishes the complete run of his Down Beat column Vinyl Freak in a single book.
Posted inBlogs
Corbett vs. Dempsey reissue another free-jazz classic from the FMP catalog
The searing 1973 trio record King Alcohol collides European aesthetics and the probing free jazz of New York’s peak “new thing” years.
Posted inBlogs
Dissecting Sublime Frequencies with the folks behind a recent book on the label
The editors and writers behind Punk Ethnography lead a reading and discussion Saturday afternoon at Corbett vs. Dempsey.
Posted inBlogs
John Corbett guides you into the netherworld of free improvisation
Chicago gallerist and scholar John Corbett demystifies improvisation in a concise new book that he’ll read from on Saturday.
Posted inArts & Culture
‘Monster Roster’ confirms Chicago’s significance in midcentury American art
A crucial era in local art history is on display at the Smart Museum.