News & Updates — Chicago

John Stubblefield was a talented and highly underrated reedsman who sounded great on so many classic records. From segregated Little Rock, he toured with Solomon Burke before settling in Chicago in the late '60s, where he joined up with the AACM. He moved to NYC in the '70s and worked with Mary Lou Williams, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Nat Adderley and a stormy membership in the Charles Mingus band. At one point he was also director of the Jazzmobile. He recorded a few excellent albums under his own name and left the planet in...

"The King of the Slide Guitar", Elmore James tinkered with electronics in his brother's shop to create his raw amplified sound. He hit in '52 with "Dust My Broom" (from his first leader session) and "The Sky Is Crying" is oft-covered. With his wicked slide, "violent" sound and soulful vocal he was a major influence on both subsequent bluesmen and British & US rockers alike (especially Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers). We give a nod to Elmore on his birthday. Check out "Dust My Broom":

Chuck Nessa is the man who birthed the Nessa Records label. Operating out of Chicago starting in the mid 60's, Nessa supported the up-and-coming musicians from the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and issued artifacts from the avant-garde of jazz/modern creative music including such seminal albums by Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, the unsung Hal Russell, Von Freeman, Air and others. An underground rare groove classic by the Art Ensemble of Chicago ("Theme de Yoyo") finds its home on an early Nessa release. Today, the label is still producing exciting new music and we check in with Mr...