 Fred Anderson, photo by Seth Tisue In honor of Fred Anderson’s 80th birthday, the Velvet Lounge is presenting the 80th Birthday Tribute Festival beginning Sunday, March 15, and culminating with Fred's birthday celebration on Sunday, March 22. The event will feature multiple bands each night, special guests, a limited edition poster, and a limited edition cd of Fred Anderson Trio: Birthday Live 2000 at the Velvet Lounge recorded on Fred’s 72nd birthday. Ths week long tribute to Fred and his Velvet Lounge features an incredible line up of the best artists in creative Chicago jazz including the honoree, Fred Anderson, along with Nicole Mitchell, Kahil El’Zabar, Ernest Dawkins, Ari Brown, Corey Wilkes, Jeff Parker, Billy Brimfield, Hamiet Bluiett, Kidd Jordan, Justin Dillard, Willie Pickens, Dee Alexander and Henry Grimes. Delmark records will be recording/videotaping some of the shows for future release; come out and be a part of jazz history! This festival is also known ats The Velvet Lounge “Bail-Out” Festival with all proceeds to benefit the jazz club.
Fred Anderson grew up in the Southern U.S. and learned to play the saxophone by himself when he was a teenager. Anderson moved his family to Evanston, Illinois in the 1940's. He studied music formally at the Roy Knapp Conservatory in Chicago, and had a private teacher for a short time. Fred worked installing carpet for decades to sustain his music and his family, before opening up a succession of important Chicago nightclubs. Despite Anderson's prominence as an avant-garde musician, his guiding inspiration continues to be Charlie Parker, portraits of whom are prominently displayed at Anderson's club, the Velvet Lounge.
He was one of the founders of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and is still an important member of the musical collective. His partner for many years was the Chicago underground jazz legend, trumpeter Billy Brimfield.
Anderson appeared on several notable avant garde albums in the '60s, notably the seminal Delmark recordings of saxophonist Joseph Jarman, As If It Were The Seasons (1968), and Song For (1966), which includes Anderson's composition "Little Fox Run."
In 1983, Fred Anderson took over ownership of the Velvet Lounge in Chicago, which quickly became a center for the city's jazz and experimental music scenes. The club expanded and relocated in the summer of 2006. Before that, his eclectic Beehive bar in west Chicago was a draw where musicians from around the world drank beer and played, mostly for each other.
Though he remained an active performer, Anderson recorded rarely for about a decade beginning in the mid-'80s. By the 1990s, however, he resumed a more active recording schedule, both as a solo artist, and in collaboration with younger performers, notably saxophonist Ken Vandermark and drummer Hamid Drake.
Since at least the 1970s, Anderson has acted as mentor to young musicians who have gone on to prominent careers in music, either by featuring them in his groups or as performers at the Velvet Lounge. The list of musicians who he helped bring to public attention include Harrison Bankhead, David Boykin, Hamid Drake, Aaron Getsug, Josh Abrams, Fred Jackson, George Lewis, Karl E. H. Seigfried, Isaiah Sharkey, and Isaiah Spencer.
March 15, 18-22, 25, 2009 at the Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak, Chicago, (312) 791-9050; www.velvetlounge.net
Fred Anderson’s 80th Birthday Tribute Festival ScheduleSunday, March 15, 7pm-9pm: AACM Great Black Music Ensemble featuring original compositions dedicated to Fred Anderson and special guest appearance by Fred Anderson
Wednesday, March 18, 8:30pm: Wednesday Masters Series Tribute to Fred Anderson- SET I—Richard Davis & Willie Pickens
- SET II (10pm)—Edwin Daugherty/Ari Brown/Dawi Williams/Dushun Mosley with special guests Douglas R. Ewart & Henry Grimes
Thursday, March 19, 8:30pm: Justin Dillard Tribute to Fred Anderson- SET I—Justin Dillard & the D-O-3-O Organ Trio with special guest Mike Moynihan
- SET II (10pm)—Kahil El’ Zabar Trio with special guest Ernest Dawkins
Friday, March 20, 9:00pm: Asian Improv Records Tribute to Fred Anderson- SET I—Jeff Chan’s Clarinet Quartet featuring Mwata Bowden, Ed Wilkerson and special guest Jimmy Ellis
- SET II (10:30pm)—Tatsu Aoki & Miyumi Project “Big Band Edition” with special guests Jeff Chan, Jimmy Ellis, Ed Wilkerson, Jeff Parker & Avreeayl Ra
- SET III (12am)—Fred Anderson, Jeff Parker, Tatsu Aoki & Chad Taylor
Saturday, March 21, 8:00pm: “Blackout Festival” Tribute to Fred Anderson- SET I—Ernest Dawkins & the New Horizons Ensemble with special guest Corey Wilkes
- SET II (9:30pm)—Dee Alexander Quartet with special guest Nicole Mitchell
- SET III (11pm)—Ari Brown Quartet with special guest Pharez Whitted
- SET IV (12:30pm)—“Jam for Fred” with above plus special guests Hamiet Bluiett, Henry Grimes, Kidd Jordan & additional surprise guests
Sunday, March 22, 7:00pm: Fred Anderson’s 80th Birthday Party!- SET I—Fred Anderson, Jeff Parker, Harrison Bankhead & Hamid Drake with special guest Kidd Jordan
- SET II (8:30pm)—add special guests Billy Brimfield, Henry Grimes & Chad Taylor
- SET III (10pm)—“Free Jazz Jam” with all above plus surprise special guests
- SET IV (11:30pm)—Isaiah Spencer & the Velvet Jam All-Stars followed by the Velvet Lounge Jazz Jam….
---Advance Tickets Strongly Recommended for March 18-22—Available at the Velvet---
Festival Encore: Bonus Gig
Wednesday, March 25, 9:30pm @ the Hideout: TWO SETS—Fred Anderson, Harrison Bankhead & Tim Daisy
March 15, 18-22, 25, 2009 at the Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak, Chicago, (312) 791-9050; www.velvetlounge.net
Fred Anderson bio adapted from Wikipedia.org |
Chicago 
Tuesday, 09 February 2010
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