I only had one scheduled event on yesterday’s schedule, but it was a good one! Day 2 featured the Chicago Jazz Orchestra performing at Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL.
First there’s the building. This church was built by Frank Lloyd Wright and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For good reason:
I knew immediately upon walking in the significance of this building. Many of the things most commonly assocated with Wright are on display: the windows, the narrow corridors that open up to wider spaces, the use of wood and glass…it’s all there.
Then there was the show which opened with a series of remarks including comments by Herbie Hancock and Kurt Elling.
The concert began with two Duke Ellington tunes conducted by founder Jeff Lindberg. It was everything I had hoped it would be: a throwback to an earlier time when jazz ensembles played with exuberance and passion this great music.
The sax soloist was Andy Farber who then conducted the CJO in a performance of his Usonian Structures. The work is an 8-movement suite – each one inspired by one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings. Included in the suite is, of course, the Unity Temple itself.
Farber was a great host taking us through the eight suites, often with pithy comments and the occasional forgotten fact.
What mattered most was the music and this 16-person ensemble could play! Almost every one of the outstanding musicians got to solo at one point or another.
Simply put, this was an afternoon I will never forget.
Today is jam packed with several events and I’ll have a report for you on that tomorrow.
All photos and video by Craig L. Byrd