gram JAZZ PROMOTING AND NURTURING JAZZ IN CHICAGO SEPTEMBER 2020 WWW.JAZZINCHICAGO.ORG BIRD’S BEBOP BROTHER GOES HOME JOE SEGAL, JIC CO-FOUNDER, 2015 NEA JAZZ MASTER, REMEMBERED BY MUSICIANS AND MUSIC LOVERS BY COREY HALL While our current reality resembles Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds on steroids, let us escape and celebrate Joe Segal -- April 24, 1926-August 10, 2020 -- who brought jazz to Chicago for more than seven decades. Imagine… Scene: August 10, 2020. Place: Tadd’s Hot House. Charlie Parker, firm, fit, and poison-free since March 12, 1955, is sheddin’ “Just Friends” when in walks Joe. “Hey, man! It’s about time!” Bird exclaims, embracing his brother in bop. “What were you up to? Reading the list of upcoming cats?” “I was busy saving the youth,” Joe replies, while readjusting his Cubs cap. “Keeping them safe from the ‘Yookey Dukes!’” Both brothers laugh, embrace again, and then cast their sights down at this page, now a stage, where dudes and dudettes carrying voices, horns and guitars gather to take on this thought prompter: “What song sums up your experience with and/or appreciation of Joe Segal?” (The tunes designated with an asterisk are accompanied by a video available by clicking on the link or thumbnail). Solitaire Anna Miles, vocalist: (*) “I did every gig at the Jazz Showcase with Willie Pickens. We always opened with “Exactly Like You," and if Joe was there, he would sing it with me from the audience, so I think he liked the tune…or at least the way Willie and I did it. He liked the tune, and it reminds me of him.” Joe Segal (1926-2020) Click here to watch video. photo by Laird Scott Ahmed Benbayla, former assistant and confidant: (Ax: Grey Goose and Tonic with a squeeze of lime, please.) “ ‘Perhaps,’ by Bird, and ‘More Than You Know.’ (On August 10,) I lost a friend, mentor, and man who was like a father. He opened doors for me and introduced me to a world of Jazz luminaries who became friends and close associates. Like a father, he would advise, reprimand, console, and honor me with his guidance. I'm already missing him and will miss our reminiscing about people and a time gone, and all the laughs we shared. Oh…and the secrets! Know that I loved you, Joe. Your indirect son, Ahmed.” Barry Winograd, baritone saxophonist: “A song my eight-piece band does is called ‘Old Man Jazz.’ It is a great classic. That was Joe.” Larry Gray, bassist: “Joe Segal is vitally important to me and all of Chicago. He was a tireless advocate for jazz his entire life and brought the city so much music for so long, since 1947. Any song describing or celebrating continued on page 2 JAZZ IN CHICAGO SEPTEMBER 2020 2 continued from page 1 Joe should have something in there about purity of thought, truth, fidelity, etc. And he was such a character. I can never say enough thanks to Joe for the many musical connections which came my way through working at his club, starting in 1976, with Sonny Stitt, Willie Pickens and Wilbur Campbell. What a wonderful ride it all was, but most important is what Joe did for the music, for its creators and the audience. So many of us heard our first jazz concerts at various incarnations of the club. We didn’t even know each other…but it was the music and the fact that Joe brought it to us. For many of us who have traveled the world and still share musical connections, the Jazz Showcase was always home and school. Joe created that center, an oasis, really, and that in itself is quite unique. “Many tunes remind me of Joe. Despite the focus of his musical tastes, he was widely experienced, highly educated, and open in his likes. He could surprise you with his appreciation for music outside of bebop. In my mind, anything by Charlie Parker comes to mind, tunes like 'Salt Peanuts,' or 'Dewey Square,' or 'Quasimodo,' 'Old Folks,' and 'Confirmation.' ” Adriana Prieto, vocalist: “ ‘Yardbird Suite’! We all know that Joe was a bebop fan and admirer of Charlie Parker’s work. I read that he passed listening to Bird. On August 11, we (the JIC staff) were at the Jazz Showcase filming some speeches for our gala. It was the first day of the Showcase without Joe. We asked Miguel delaCerna to play something on the piano for an improvised segment, and he played ‘Yardbird Suite.’ I imagined it was Joe’s ghost who whispered, “Play ‘Yardbird Suite,’ Miguel,” as it was the first song played at the Showcase after he left us.” Bobby Broom, guitarist: (*) “It took me a minute, but then the great Joe Segal story that I have dawned on me. It’s one that greatly affected my life. He was responsible for my connecting with Kenny Burrell and the Jazz Guitar Band being formed. That said, the song that best sums up my experience with Joe is ‘Generation,’ the title song from our album for Blue Note Records. It was recorded live at the Village Vanguard in 1987.” Click here to watch the video. Daniel Gayden, drummer: “The song that I want to dedicate to Mr. Segal is ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street,’ from the album Sonny Side NEA Jazz Masters: Tribute to Joe Segal (2015). Click here to watch video. Up: Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins. I saw a great picture of Mr. Segal and Dizzy at Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. Dizzy had his trumpet in hand; Mr. Segal had his Cubs hat on. Dizzy was an integral part of Chicago’s music in some form or fashion, especially when he came to the Showcase. ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’ is as swinging as anything you’re ever going to find. That’s what represents him: something that is swinging, something that’s right in there. That recording will last forever, legacy-wise. And I’m very thankful to Mr. Segal for all his contributions.” Marc Piane, bassist: “When I was initially presented with this question, my mind instantly started to think of the hippest classic bebop tune I could. In thinking about it, I realized that I didn’t really know Joe all that well. I have been in his club both as an audience member and performer countless times, but I’m not sure our conversations ever got past small talk. I then thought back to the first time I set foot in the Jazz Showcase. It was in the Blackstone Hotel at the time. It was the early ‘90s, and I was 16 or 17 years old. The great bassist Chuck Webb, who was a student of my father, was playing with Ramsey Lewis. I have always been musically inclined, but that definitely stands out as a day when I first thought that being a professional musician would be cool. I know the meaning of the song is different, but ‘What a Difference a Day Makes’ keeps popping in my head. That day did make a difference, and I’ll forever remember Joe for providing so many young people an opportunity to hear great music.” Maia, Multi-Dimensional Expressionist: (*) “Copeland’s ‘Fanfare for the Common Man.’ Joe’s intention resonates with this piece for me as did the late Mayor Harold Washington’s. This piece was played during memorial salutes for our beloved Mayor Washington in 1987. Joe symbolized Chicago pretty much the same way continued on page 3 JAZZ IN CHICAGO SEPTEMBER 2020 3 continued from page 2 as Harold. Joe loved Chicago and jazz with full passion. Chicago loved him. Yes. This is the song.” Click here to watch the video Paul Marinaro, vocalist: My first important booking at The Showcase was in 2013 for the release of my album Without a Song, a tribute to my dad. I had heard that Joe was not particularly fond of singers in general, and knowing his immense history in Chicago, I was a bit insecure about what he would think of me. During the set, he sat alongside the stage, listening and watching rather gruffly, and gave the impression that since he'd heard the best there was and had been, why should I bother. But he was listening. After the set, he came up to me, complimented the players, and as he walked away said, "Good singing." I was elated. The next time I saw him, I was on break after another performance. We sat at the bar and had a wonderful conversation about music, vocalists, and Sinatra, and he recounted stories about some of the giants that he'd crossed paths with. I immediately noticed that he was not only gladly sharing his vast knowledge of this music, but was tailoring the conversation to what he thought I'd personally find value in. Among the many songs that he suggested I do was ‘Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry’ and ‘Corner Pocket (Until I Met You),’ neither of which I'd performed before. “Because the musicians were iffy on the former, we settled on trying the latter for Joe. I decided that since it was a Basie/Freddie Green staple, it just needed to swing like hell. From his spot in front of the stage and off to the side, I noticed him tapping along. When we finished, he caught my eye, gave me a thumbs up, flashed his quick, toothy grin, and walked away.” Brad Goode, trumpeter: “Billie’s Bounce,” by Charlie Parker.