Jazz | Pint | Amok Amor

Tonight I planned to listen to selections from discs relating to an up coming session. The theme for November is "Jazz & Place" - which I'm leaning towards music that I have connection the place and the music. maybe something from Chicago which I've nailed down to a couple of options - Miles Davis 'Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965' (I lived a short walk from where the club once stood and it's one of my favourite recordings from Miles) or Ken Vandermark's 'The Midwest School' (I heard this group, Audio One, at the Green Mill in 2013 and this was recorded in 2014 at the same venue). And then there's NYC, and The Stone in particular - Connie Crothers and Bill Payne ('The Stone Set'), Richard Tabnik ('Symphony for Jazz Trio') or Connie Crothers Quartet with Mark Weber.... a tough choice! Plus there's Will Holhauser/Michael Moore/Han Bennink 'Live in NYC' not only a souvenir from that gig at Drom where I happened to run into Bastian Duncker (it's a reminder of the time I spent in Greece where I'd been a couple of months before playing music alongside Bastian). It all feels a little nostalgic tonight... maybe it's the chamomile tea?

But in the end, I went off script and ended up listening to Amok Amor - Petter Eldh (bass) Christian Lillinger (drums) Wanja Slavin (alto sax) and Peter Evans (trumpet) - and their high energy playing almost crushed any nostalgic feelings that were kicking about! Seriously though, this is a recent bandcamp purchase that I bumped into will looking into Lillinger. He's quite the drummer and worth price of admission alone, but everyone plays well, and it's a really cohesive quartet. Maybe not music I will return to a lot but when the moment strikes me it can hit the spot.

The Plugged Nickel

The Plugged Nickel circa late 1960s 
(excuse the glare on my photo).
The Sigmund J. Osty collection - Chicago History Museum 

One of my fellow interns at the Chicago History Museum is working on processing a collection photographs of buildings from across Chicago. As she was working her way through them I spotted this jazz-related gem taken sometime in the late 60s/early 70s - the Plugged Nickel at 1321 N. Wells Street (a short walk from the Museum).

I've been keeping my eye out for the Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 box set. Used copies are so expensive that sometimes I almost succumbed to getting the digital version, but I managed to hold out until I found it reasonably priced last week (although it has been put aside for a Christmas present). Many consider the recordings Miles' quintet made at the Plugged Nickel to  be classics and an essential part of any jazz collection, and it would be nice to see the box set available again in a physical format (seems more likely it will be as vinyl).

As it appears in September 2016

While hunting online for articles regarding the club, I came across the article below from the Chicago Tribune (May 17, 1981) in which Larry Kart ponders why Columbia haven't reissued the Plugged Nickel LP in the U.S....I know the feeling.