Eric Schneider

This would sincerely be a unique presentation as some of Chicago's finest musicians and dignitaries were in attendance to pay tribute to these two "giants". The list included Margaret Murphy, Julia Huff, Charles Health, Freida Lee, Eddie De Haas, Audley Reid, Willie Pickens, Bethany Pickens, Sue Conway, Jimmy Willis, Lady T, and John Wright, who is responsible for making these presentations possible.

Jazz icons Joe Segal and Penny Tyler introduced Mr. Hoyle while Sue Conway had the honor of introducing her colleague Cliff Kelly. Hoyle , a native of Gary continues to perform on a regular basis even though he's 80 years old. He's a member of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and often performs with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Kelly, hosts a daily talk show on WVON , and co host ETA's monthly "Music Monday" jazz sets. In addition, he's a life long jazz aficionado.

Prior to the presentations, Scheidner and his quartet engaged the overflow crowd with a varied array of jazz. Joining Eric was Kelly Sill on bass, Phil Gratteau on drums and Dennis Luxion on keyboard. They began the set with Gershwin's "It's Wonderful". After warming up with this classic, the group played the beautiful ballad "The Shadow of Your Smile", from the movie "Sandpiper". This number was popularized by Chicago Sax man, Eddie Harris. Schneider of course used his tenor to take lead with Sill following with a nice extended solo.

Sill also distinguished himself on the next song, "I Can''t Give You Anything But Love, Baby", while Eric switched to his alto with the same excellent results. Throughout the set, he alternated between the two saxophones and clarinet.

What's a Chicago jazz set without a "blues-tinged" number and they satisfied this knowledgeable crowd with another Eddie Harris recorded number,"Born To Be Blue".

One of the set's highlights was an original that Eric called "Segal's Showcase". Penned in the Bebop mode of Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordan and Sonny Stitt, this number quickly became a crowd favorite as each ensemble member was allowed to "stretch" with extended solos.

Finally the set came to a climatic end with guest vocalist Freida Lee favoring the crowd with "My Funny Valentine " and Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train". The later was in commemoration of Duke's long time collaborator Billy Strayhorn's 94Th birthday. A very appropriate way to end a wonderful set, and the Hyde Park Jazz Society's audience was ecstatic.

This weekly affair continues to showcase some of Chicago's finest musicians each Sunday evening. For detailed information about future Hyde Park Jazz Society's events, refer to their website at www.hydeparkjazzsociety.org.