1. “Muskrat Ramble,” Kid Ory, Hot Fives & Hot Sevens, Columbia/Legacy, 1926.

2. “Candied Sweets,” Jack Pettis, Regal Records, 1927.

3. “Slumming on Park Avenue,” Irving Berlin, Hendersonia: Sun Ra Performs Fletcher Henderson, 1987. Written in 1937.

4. “Portrait of the Living Sky,” Sun Ra, Supersonic Jazz, Saturn Records, 1957.

5. “Dreams Come True,” Sun Ra & His Arkestra, Sound of Joy, Delmark Records, 1966. Recorded in 1956.

6. “L-O-V-E,” Nat King Cole, L-O-V-E, Capitol Records, released 1965. Recorded in 1964.

7. “Dolphin Dance,” Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage, Blue Note Records, released 1965.

8. “I’ll Close My Eyes,” Von Freeman, Young and Foolish, Timeless Records, 1977.

9. “Inside Myself,” Art Porter, Pocket City, Verve Forecast, 1992.

10. “So Alive,” Dee Alexander & Chicago Soul Jazz Collective, On the Way to Be Free, JMarq Records, 2022.

This playlist is a selection of jazz throughout Chicago’s rich musical and social history. The selections in this playlist range from 1926 all the way to 2022. Throughout the playlist you will notice lots of evolution in the music, including developments in instrumentation harmony and language. This music’s evolution has also been constantly influenced by the complex racial dynamics that have been present throughout the city’s history. The great migration started in 1916 and the music from Black American immigrants was immediately adopted into American culture. This in combination with the ideas of other American and European composers created what we know as jazz today, constantly pushing the boundaries for what music can be. A common theme throughout this playlist is innovation versus tradition. It can be heard in the way musicians blend traditional elements such as blues and bebop language with more modern techniques. One example of this modernity is Herbie Hancocks, Dolphin Dance from his album, Maiden Voyage. This tune moves away from traditional jazz and dives into something almost entirely new. This sort of experimentation was very significant in the 1960’s when experimentation and modernism in music. Racial boundaries also played a huge role in the evolution of jazz. Starting after the Great Migration, Chicago became a gathering place for Black musicians who migrated from the south to escape racism and Jim Crow laws. Unfortunately, Chicago was not immune to racism and more specifically, segregation. Black Americans were forced to live in a specific area located on the South Side between 22nd and 63rd street. This area was called the black belt. While limiting, this segregation allowed lots of innovation in black culture without white interference. This included lots of innovation in Black music, specifically the blues. Each of the next paragraphs will explore the history and context of songs that were a part of Chicago’s rich musical history.

“Muskrat Ramble,” was written by trombonist, Kid Ory, who played in Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five. Personnel includes Louis Armstrong on cornet, Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lil Hardin on piano, and Johnny St. Cyr on banjo. The progression in this tune is what stood out to me. In the sixth bar, there is a C minor chord which adds a very subtle somber feeling. The stop times played by the band while Ory plays eighth note runs outlining the chords stood out to me. I also appreciate Kid Ory’s Glissando into the solo section which was part of his musical character and innovation of the time. When “Muskrat Ramble” was written, the pauses in time with solo trombone were very new. With no drummer in this recording, Pianist Lil Hardin and Banjoist Johnny St. Cy were keeping time with quarter notes, sometimes with varying comping rhythms. In the photo taken for this record, the band is wearing formal clothing. This was a form of racial uplift, and advertised to Black people. It was also a way of showing their distinction and talent.

“Candied Sweets” was released by Jack Pettis in 1927. The personnel on this tune is unlisted but Pettis was known to have worked closely with violinist Joe Venuti and guitarist Eddie Lang in the late 1920s. Pettis was one of the first popular white jazz musicians to come out of the 1920s era. He was also one of the first jazz musicians to play the tenor saxophone as a soloistic instrument, which would later inspire tenor saxophonist, Bud Freeman. Freeman would later become very influential in the Chicago jazz scene, becoming known for his unique sound and fascinating approach to the instrument. Another aspect of this recording that I enjoyed was the guitar solo. Similarly to tenor, guitar was just starting to find its place as a soloistic instrument in jazz of this time.

“Slumming on Park Avenue” off Sun Ra’s album, Hendersonia. This album was recorded live by Sun Ra & His Arkestra in Santa Cruz in 1987 featuring Sun Ra on keys, John Gilmore on saxophone, Tyler Mitchel on bass, Thomas Hunter on drums and June Tyson on vocals. This tune was originally written by Irving Berlin for the film On the Avenue in 1937. I can imagine Blount liked to play this tune because of its commentary on class. At the time, there were high tensions and large divisions between race and class. This tune is about rich people romanticizing poverty by dressing and acting like how they think poor people do. There is also someone singing who is impersonating Louis Armstrong. I think this is meant to resemble Armstrong’s significance in the black community during these difficult times. The introduction to this tune is played freely by Blount and there are moments where he is playing so loud, it sounds like he is going to break the piano. This dramatic intro could be interpreted as his own frustration with these tensions. Blount also took a lot of inspiration from Fletcher Henderson, who played “Slumming on Park Avenue” along with the others from the album Hendersonia. Fletcher Henderson worked with Louis Armstrong and as stated by Sites (2020), later had Blount play and arrange for his orchestra, an important development in Blount’s career.

“Portrait of the Living Sky” by Sun Ra comes from his record, Supersonic Jazz, released in March 1957 by El Saturn Records. Personnel includes Sun Ra on keys, Victor Sproles on bass, William Cochran on percussion. This tune stuck out to me because of its simplistic and beautiful nature. The tune does not have any form or swing feel, but consists entirely of a vamp in Eb. Ra improvises his own chord changes and inflections which are influenced by the swing style but executed with a rubato feel. One example of this is when he strikes octaves in Db and rolls octaves of D with his right hand. This is a popular technique used by many jazz pianists today. His piano playing is accompanied by bassist, Victor Sproles, holding down the I and a Timpani tuned to the V to create tension. Drummer William Cochran is playing a driving wood block pattern and occasionally plays cymbals to add texture. Ra’s choice of chords and inflections is definitely influenced by tradition, but the sound provided by the rest of the band is very innovative. As discussed in class, Ra is trying to create a sound reminiscent of space. “Portrait of the Living Sky” is a perfect example of that floating, peaceful, and curious sound. To Sun Ra, space symbolized freedom. I believe this tune is meant to give the audience that freeing feeling.

“Dreams Come True.” For this tune, I will be looking into the first section of this video titled Rehearsal, Chicago Circa, 1954. The recording features Sun Ra on keys, Victor Sproles on bass, Art Hoyle on trumpet, William Cochran on drums, and Clyde Williams on vocals. The rehearsal features Sun Ra on piano and vocalists Clyde Williams and Roland Williams. I like this rehearsal because it includes two versions of “Dreams Come True.” The first is slow and rubato. I enjoy the way Blount accompanies the vocals in this version. Despite the slow tempo it sounds full of life and energy. I also enjoyed the vocal harmonies in the up tempo version. The tight harmonies remind me of the barbershop quartet style. I did not expect this tune to be written by Blount. I associate his music with being very dissonant and odd sounding, but this piece sounds much more consonant. I like the stylistic mixture of the barbershop quartet sound with Blount’s energetic accompaniment. The lyrics of “Dreams Come True” could be interpreted as a conventional romantic ballad but when considering the social contexts of the time, I think it was meant to represent the dreams of Black people wanting to live unsegregated lives.

“L.O.V.E.” was written by Nat King Cole. Personnel includes Nat King Cole on vocals and piano, Ralph Carmichael as arranger and conductor, John Collins on guitar, Charlie Harris on bass, Lee Young on drums, and a studio orchestra employed by Capitol Records. This tune has a simple but elegant arrangement and allows for a lot of emotion to be put into the notes via the players inflections. Cole’s performance lives up to Dyett’s high expectations from his students in terms of technical skill and the ability to communicate something human through music. One way this tune connects to our discussions is the repeated rhythmic phrase that is the melody. The recording of this performance reminds me of our analysis of Von Freemans solos where he often uses that technique while soloing. The melody of the tune is very simple which requires the player to understand the meaning behind a song and have the right emotional interpretation to play the song to the best of their ability. This reminds me of the phrase that Dyatt would write on the blackboard before class, “Right thoughts produce right actions. Wrong thoughts produce wrong actions.” I believe that one’s mindset while playing is one of the most influential factors in how well a musician will play. What I find most interesting about this tune is how elegant yet simple it is. It bridges the gap between jazz and pop music. I believe the simplicity and craftsmanship of this tune is what made it one of the most popular jazz tunes. This simplicity relates to Dyett’s idea that the mastery of fundamentals is extremely important in musicianship.

“Dolphin Dance” was written by Herbie Hancock and released 1965 on his album, Maiden Voyage. Personnel includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor saxophone, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Hancock brought an entirely new sound to the Chicago jazz scene because of his advanced harmonic ideas. The changes that Hancock wrote were very distinctive from jazz that came before it. During this time there was a large movement of modernism in jazz. Musicians strived to create something that sounded new and had not been done before. Hancocks album, Maiden Voyage is a perfect example of this new movement in music.

“I’ll Close My Eyes,” off Von Freeman’s album, Young and Foolish. Personnel includes Von Freeman on tenor saxophone, Jodie Christian on piano, Wilbur Campbell on drums, and Ken Walker on bass. This tune caught my attention for a few reasons. One is that this tune starts in the style of a ballad with Freeman soloing while accompanied by pianist John Young. When Freeman signals, the entire band comes in swinging. Later in the middle of the tune Freeman takes an open solo by himself. In Young’s solo, he starts to strum the piano strings like a harp. Additionally, Walton makes use of turning the snares on and off in his solo. These are all techniques that I have not seen in our class material so far. I also see these techniques being used today in Chicago. This makes me think about the discussion we had about tradition versus innovation. There seems to be a lot of innovation happening in this recording. There are also ties to tradition including blues, bebop, and swing feel, but I would consider this to be more outside. I believe the innovative techniques from this recording heavily influenced the way  jazz is played today. I also appreciate the simplicity of Charles Waltons playing. There are many complexities in both Freeman and Youngs soloing which is held down by the secure time provided by Walton and Shipp.

“Inside Myself” by Art Porter was recorded in 1992 for his album, Pocket City. Personnel includes Art Porter on saxophone, Jeff Lorber on keyboard & production, Paulinho Da Costa on percussion, Valeri Davis on bass, and guitarists Buzz Feiten, Paul Pesco, and Paul Jackson Jr.

The simple drums and percussion combined with the repeating progression make the tune very easy to groove to. One aspect of this song that is significant to our discussions is the chord progression. It is not a progression that one would hear in traditional jazz or rock from the time. This sound also breaks away from the traditions of jazz. Some might hear this and call it a turn in the wrong direction, but I appreciate Porter’s desire to experiment with his style. Art Porter was a significant musician on the Chicago jazz scene and had a great interest in experimenting with the more modern music of the time.

“So Alive” was written by saxophonist John Fournier for the album On the Way to Be Free. This tune features Dee Alexander on Vocals, and members of the Chicago Jazz Soul Collective including Larry Brown Jr. on Guitar, Keith Brooks on drums, Andrew Vogt on bass and Marques Carroll on trumpet. This band brings a whole new sound to Chicago’s music scene while preserving traditional elements of soul and blues. The Soul Collective also resonates more with modern R&B and neo-soul style. The chord progression of this tune is much more aligned with pop music of the 20th century. There is very little influence from the swing or bebop eras. Today, the musicians from this band are in the Chicago music scene. They continue to create balance between innovation and tradition.

Dexter is a third-year drummer in the UIC jazz studies program. He also enjoys playing guitar and cooking.

Works Cited:Sites, William. 2020. Sun Ra’s Chicago: Urban Space and Afrofuturism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.