Pat Mallinger © Andrea Canter

A good wind blows through the Windy City this fall as Chicago resident and alto saxman Pat Mallinger and his quartet are featured on Wednesday nights at Andy’s. Last fall, Mallinger released Moorean Moon, recorded live at the 2000 North Sea Jazz Festival, following the highly regarded Monday Prayer to Tunkashila. Of his first recording, which the Chicago Tribune dubbed “a stunning debut by any measure,” Saxophone Journal noted, "Not only do his solos exhibit a thorough understanding of America's art form, but his knowledge becomes especially visible through his exceptional writing and arranging skills. Each Mallinger composition shows remarkable craftmanship!"

As a youngster in St. Paul, Pat Mallinger was inspired by the Grass Junior High Jazz Band and recordings of Paul Desmond, and decided jazz rather than dentistry was his destiny. He played in the Sibley High School band, studied with his uncle Tommy Bauer and Brian Grivna, and often heard the great Eddie Berger perform around town. In addition to Desmond, Pat cites such early jazz influences as Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Miles Davis. After high school, Mallinger earned a degree in jazz studies from North Texas State (where he was part of the famed One O’Clock Jazz Band) and, in 1986, moved to Boston where he played with the Artie Shaw Orchestra and the Matt Wilson Quartet. Relocating to his current home in Chicago in 1990, Mallinger has played with Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Harry Connick, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.; he’s toured with Charles Earland, Woody Herman, and Cab Calloway, and appears in concerts and festivals around the world. In Chicago, he regularly performs with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Kurt Elling, Howard Levy, and the 911 Mambo Orchestra; he co-leads the ensemble Sabertooth which performs regularly at the Green Mill. Pat is also a committed jazz educator whose efforts include inspiring inner city students to pursue jazz as a member of the Ravinia Jazz Mentors Sextet. He also teaches at Columbia College and in the Chicago Public Schools. (Click here for an exclusive Jazz Police interview with Pat Mallinger.)

Moorean Moon. On July 14, 2000, Pat Mallinger and his quartet performed at the 25^th North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. Blue Jack Records Chairman Irv Rochlin attended the set, and five years later contacted Mallinger and festival officials for permission to release the tapes of the live session. The result is Moorean Moon, and it was well worth the wait. Mallinger’s straight-ahead, hard swinging sax is captured with all the verve and invention that marks live performances, and his then-Chicago-based quartet (Jim Ryan on piano, Jeff Stitely on drums, and the late Thomas Kini on bass) is a sympathetic a crew of collaborators. And collaboration is the bottom line here, as this is truly a group effort. With six of seven tracks running in excess of eight minutes, everyone stretches out and every tune benefits from the unhurried evolution of creative partnership. The playlist is a divergent buffet of two Mallinger originals and covers of Jerome Kern, Jerry Garcia, Kenny Barron, Claudio Roditi, Jimmy Heath, and Jackie McLean.

At Andy’s

For the fall run at Andy’s, Pat is joined by long-time collaborators Ron Perrillo on piano, Dennis Carroll on bass, and George Fludas on drums. Perrillo is a native New Yorker who spent his teen years in Florida, playing trumpet and baritone as well as keyboards. He cites Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Steely Dan and Jaco Pastorius as major influences, spending time with the latter who taught him “hip voicings.” Moving to Chicago in 1990, Perrillo performed with Brad Goode and Von Freeman; he performs and records with his own trio. Dennis Carroll has been busy performing in the Chicago area with Perrillo, Bobby Broom, and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Similarly, George Fludas is a highly-sought drummer in Chicago and beyond, heard frequently at The Jazz Showcase, Green Mill, and Pete Miller's, often in the company of Mallinger, Perrillo and The Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Part of the late Ray Brown’s trio in 2000-2001, he has performed with Johnny Griffin, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Frank Wess, Bobby Hutcherson, Eric Alexander and Diana Krall.

The Pat Mallinger Quartet performs every Wednesday night in September and October, 5-8:30 pm, at Andy’s, 11 E. Hubbard Street, Chicago; (312) 642-6805. More on Pat Mallinger at www.chicagojazz.com/v2/Main/FeaturedArtists/Homepage.asp?Artist=PatMallinger