John Wright

Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago,IL
Mar. 24, 2008

John Wright

John Wright & daughter Lynette Chambers

Story and Photos by James Walker

The crowd began arriving prior to 7:00pm for this 7:30pm "Black Tie " optional affair in honor of one of Chicago's premier Jazz musicians, John Wright, "South Side Soul." The women were beautiful and the men handsomely attired. It appeared that over 75% in attendance certainly received the "dress code" memo. This would be an opportunity for all to "dress to impress" as John and his ace band mates traditionally do at each of their engagements.

By 7:30pm, every pocket of free air and space had been claimed in this capacious room. Folding chairs had to be set up to accommodate this festive overflow crowd. Unfortunately, the crowd remained too festive for the entire evening as many engaged in conversation that was quite distracting to the band and to those who actually were in attendance to hear this virtuoso jazz pianist. Even at the urging of Hyde Park Jazz Society's Charlie Thomas, and Wright himself, to quell the "chatter," it still was difficult for listeners to be attentive to this world class musician. Notwithstanding though, John Wright, being the consummate professional that he is, simply played his heart out. One could not detect whether John allowed the distraction to interfer with his task at hand. He wasted little time at the top of the performance getting into the "swing of things" with "Getting to Know You" and Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train." Accompanied by his long standing colleagues of Nick Tountas on Bass, Jim Pierce on guitar , William Cochran on Drums, and vocalist "Lady T" Marcelain, this group played rich standards throughout the evening with each member of the ensemble having ample opportunities for extended solos. Cochran and Tountas shared such a moment on 'A Train.' What's a "Grand Piano" set without a few selections from the masters Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The audience was offered such selections during both sets.

John talked about the relationship between Blues and Jazz as he elicited assistance from the more than willing audience on "Let the Good Times Roll." He even merged the final few bars with a "gospel" chord. The set was concluded with a lovely rendition of "What a Difference a Day Makes" from vocalist Lady T.

Although this evening was in honor of John Wright, the Jazz Society also used this occasion to pay tribute to two deceased "South Side" jazz men with presentations to their widows for untiring support of their husbands during their long careers. Plaques were given to Mrs Virginia Watson, wife of trombonist John Watson and Mrs. Lorraine Walton, wife of drummer Charles Edward Walton. Both women were accompanied by several family members.

Also, Ruby Rogers, Vice President of the Jazz Institute of Chicago and a jazz aficionado was recognized for her continued support of Jazz throughout the greater Chicago land. Ruby has for years been a driving force behind the success of the annual Chicago Jazz Festival in late August.

Before returning to music for the 2nd set, John sponsored a "trivial" contest, giving audience members a chance to win monetary rewards for correct responses to jazz related questions. This was a real classy act on the part of Wright and before the conclusion of the evening, he also GAVE away CDs instead of selling them. What a nice gesture from a wonderful person.

The second set began with another crowd favorite, "My Funny Valentine". This is a beautiful standard and the entire band was exceptional on this number. John's music for the remainder of the evening consisted primarily of selections from the songbook of great piano players. Such songs included Errol Garner's "Misty," Horace Silver's "Song for My Father", and Duke's "Satin Doll." Not a bad choice of music. It was during the playing of "Satin Doll" that drummer William Cochran distinguished himself with some smooth power-precision drumming. This piece may also have been Wright's showcase selection of the evening. Wild cheers was elicited from the packed house after this number. This writer would be remiss without recognizing the special play of mellow guitar player, Jim Pierce and the deep bass tones that were produced by Nick Tountas on the upright.

Before bringing the evening to a close, Wright again engaged the audience in another jazz trivial contest. It was also at this point that John offered copies of his CDs to those patrons remaining. These "die hard" jazz fans were very appreciative of Wright's generosity.

Overall, the Hyde Park Jazz Society's first "Black Tie" affair was successful. The music was exceptional, most patrons were appropriately attired in Black and White, and all were in a jovial mood. With that being said, in the future, it would not be expecting to much that patrons be more respectful of the hard working musicians and fellow audience members by keeping their conversations to a whisper.

Next Sunday's Hyde Park Jazz Society's set at the Checkerboard will feature another outstanding keyboardist, Ryan Cohan.

For detailed information about upcoming Checker Jazz sets, log on their website at www.checkerjazz.org.