My cup runneth over

Apologies to those Soundslope readers who don't live in Chicago and don't derive a voyeuristic, vicarious pleasure of knowing what's going on musically here in the Windy City.

There are some great gigs going on this month that I thought folks should know about.

First off, the Velvet Lounge will be a veritable beehive of activity in June.

This weekend, Friday and Saturday, the Rob Brown Trio, with William Parker and Gerald Cleaver will be gracing the stage of the Velvet. I'll be there for at least one night and will definitely report back.

On Friday and Saturday of next week, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble will be at the Velvet doing a two night stand that will also be recorded by Delmark for future CD and DVD release.

Wednesday, June 13th, the Velvet will be hosting a record release party for Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake's new disc, From the River to the Ocean, featuring album-mates Harrison Bankhead, Josh Abrams, and Jeff Parker. They're also playing a 7-9 PM special show at Stop Smiling, 1371 N Milwaukee the night before, June 12th.

On June 15th, Dee Alexander will do a tribute to Light Henry Huff, a free show at the Columbus Park Refectory, 5701 W Jackson, at 7:30 PM. For those who aren't familiar, Light was an AACM reedist and spiritual healer who touched a lot of lives in Chicago but left us far too soon. He's featured on the early Ethnic Heritage Ensemble album on the Moers label.

On June 22nd and 23rd, the Ari Brown Quartet will be at the Green Mill, and will also be recording a live CD and DVD for Delmark. On the second night they will be joined by Mr. Pete Cosey on guitar, a performance I am anxiously anticipating.

Which brings me to the Great Black Music Ensemble. They'll be playing three shows in June and two of them are particularly noteworthy.

They're playing two Sunday hits at the Velvet, on the 3rd and 10th. On the 10th they'll be joined by special guest Fred Anderson, who will be making a return to performing after an extended hiatus.

Then, on June 30th, they'll play a Saturday night at the Velvet, and they will be conducted by none other than Mr. Roscoe Mitchell.

They will be playing Roscoe's charts, and he will conduct - I don't think he's going to play, but you can't be sure. They're going to do two sets and turn the room over in between, so everyone who wants to see this once in a lifetime show will be able to get into the Velvet. Roscoe Mitchell conducting a premiere avant-big band, playing Roscoe's charts. If nothing else, it should be interesting.

And then there's everything else. The free, outdoor MCA Tuesdays on the Terrace begin and The Hideout continues it's great Wednesday night series, to name just a couple others.

This list is far from comprehensive, and it displays my biases for all to see (which are not only musical, but also geographical in terms of where I live, which happens to be a stone's throw from the Velvet). These are all shows I'm planning on attending, if all goes well.