Photo by Howard A. Gitelson
If Chicago isn't windy enough, the next two weeks will surely blow you away as thirty-something trumpet monsters Roy Hargrove (November 23-28) and Nicholas Payton (November 30-December 5) roar into town for back-to-back gigs at the Jazz Showcase.

After Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove is probably the best known trumpeter on the planet today. And at only 34, his output as a recording artist (9 sessions as leader) is almost as remarkable as his chops. His recent project, RH Factor, created a lot of buzz by merging R&B and hip-hop mainstream with jazz, but his past and current efforts are decidedly more Dizzy than Ice-T. As noted by Christopher Jones following a recent Hargrove Quintet performance at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle, this is "straightforward, no-nonsense modern jazz...with integrity and conviction."

. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Pat Mallinger has been playing the saxophone for 29 years. Mr. Mallinger has lived and performed in Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, and Japan, before relocating to Chicago 13 years ago. His resume includes performances with Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Harry Connick, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others. Pat has toured with Charles Earland, Woody Herman, Cab Calloway, and Artie Shaw Orchestra.

In addition to being featured on concerts and festivals throughout the world, Pat is very active on the Chicago music scene. He performs regularly with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Ravinia Festival Jazz Band, Bobby Lewis Quintet, Bobbi Wilsyn Quintet, Howard Levy, Orbert Davis, Kurt Elling, Allejo Poveda Latin Jazz, and as co-leader of Sabertooth.

The Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival will present a wealth of both local and national talent this year. Masters of the tenor sax will be in particular abundance, from local whiz Doug Little to the legendary David Fathead Newman. Two veterans deserving more attention than they ever get are Lew Tabackin and Von Freeman, neither strangers to Twin Cities audiences.

Von Freeman most notably released a well-received recording, “Live at the Dakota” (Premonition Records, 2001) featuring local titans Terry Burns, Phil Hey, and the late Bobby Peterson. Yet even local jazz audiences are probably far less familiar with his warm tone than with the rest of the tenor line-up for the Hot Jazz festival. Consider this a golden opportunity to discover one of jazz' hidden treasures—and at no charge!

Photograph courtesy of Howard Gitelson