Photo Credit: Blaine Schultz
Kuzu at the Sugar Maple
Kuzu at the Sugar Maple
Friday night in Sugar Maple’s back performance room, Chicago jazz improvisation trio Kuzu played two sets of nearly unclassifiable music to an appreciative audience. Drummer-percussionist Tyler Damon seemingly used everything but sticks to scratch, scrape and whack his kit into submission. Dave Rempis chose among alto, tenor and baritone saxophones to convey low, breathy moments that built into squalling bursts of energy. Guitarist Tashi Dorji was up to the task of using his guitar as punctuation during the music’s ebb and flow.
Photo Credit: Blaine Schultz
De La Buena at Blu Lounge
De La Buena at Blu Lounge
Later that same evening, 23 stories above the city at Blu Lounge in the Pfister Hotel, the De La Buena Five (which eventually became the De La Buena Six) played a few sets of their Afro Cuban and Latin Jazz. The maverick local group mixed aggressive, percussion-driven tunes with numbers that featured David Wake on grand piano and Mike Pauers on baritone sax. It was a treat to see folks up and dancing in the face of the predicted slowdown of local music.
