Chicago Cultural Center

Jazz, Israeli style, sweeps into Chicago

2013-05-21 13:46:00

What does Israeli jazz sound like? It's experimental and traditional, edgy and relaxed, forward-looking and retrospective. The music of this cosmopolitan culture, in other words, proves as stylistically wide-ranging as you might hope of a Middle...

Red Line project kicks off with new signs

2013-05-20 10:44:00

A good sign: The CTA learned its lesson from past projects and updated much of the signage for the southern Red Line reconstruction project, making it easier for riders to commute on Monday, the first weekday of the five-month initiative. The CTA...

StoryCorps booth allows Chicagoans to make history into a microphone

2013-05-19 11:59:00

Sitting across from his son Peter in a warmly lit booth at the Chicago Cultural Center earlier this month, Chester Konopacki gave slow, careful answers about his childhood on his family's farm in Eastern Poland. He recalled he was tending horses one night...

Israeli Jazz Festival brings Middle Eastern sounds to Chicago

2013-05-16 12:39:00

Though its population hovers at just 8 million, Israel has become a powerhouse in nurturing high-caliber jazz talent. Chicago concertgoers are well acquainted with Anat Cohen, the uncommonly versatile Israeli clarinetist who's based in New York and...

Camerata Chicago a small orchestra with big dreams

2013-05-15 08:59:00

Camerata Chicago is the best local chamber orchestra you've probably never heard of. But pay heed: The group is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season, is about to release a new recording and is preparing for its first European tour next month....

'Bodies of Work' is all about art and ability

2013-05-09 10:30:00

Lyrical dance pieces incorporating performers in wheelchairs, a one-man show promising "funny stories about cancer" and the Lookingglass Theatre's world premiere adaptation of "Still Alice," a New York Times best-selling novel about a college professor...

Puppets and fairy tales are part of 'Stages, Sights and Sounds'

2013-05-02 00:00:00

The Chicago Humanities Festival is one of those things that many locals have on their calendar, but let's be clear about this — it's people in a room, standing on a stage, talking about stuff. What self-respecting kid will sit still for that?...

Classical Corner

2013-05-02 00:00:00

Apollo Chorus of Chicago: Composer Stephen Paulus will be in residence for a program of his choral works under Stephen Alltop's direction. 7:30 p.m. Friday at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut St.; and 3 p.m. Sunday at Alice Millar Chapel,...

Chicago Jazz Festival 2013 lineup announced

2013-05-01 06:54:00

Drummer Jack DeJohnette, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, pianists Jason Moran and Robert Glasper and saxophonists Donald Harrison, Charles Lloyd, Jimmy Heath and Rudresh Mahanthappa will headline the 35th annual Chicago Jazz Festival, running Aug. 29...

Chicago saxophonist Pat Mallinger gets ready for his close-up

2013-04-25 14:22:00

When singer-pianist Diane Schuur headlined at the Jazz Showcase last week, she wasn't the most commanding player on stage. At leat not whenever Chicago saxophonist Pat Mallinger stepped up to solo. Each time he brought the mouthpiece to his lips,...

Building a bridge between Chicago and France, through jazz

2013-04-23 10:43:00

Imagine what might happen if some of Chicago's most inventive jazz musicians embarked on a multi-year collaboration with their counterparts in France. Just think of the music that might result, the insights that could be shared, the audiences that would...

COT's 'Maria de Buenos Aires' a dark tango with history

2013-04-21 13:19:00

With acts of terror again splashed across front pages, the sheer immediacy of Chicago Opera Theater's production of "Maria de Buenos Aires" hits you like a blow to the solar plexus. The show, which opened Saturday at the Harris Theater for Music and...

Urban beekeeper Michael Thompson, farm manager/director of the Chicago Honey Co-Op, seen here on the rooftop of the Chicago Cultural Center on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Thompson tends the 4 hives on the roof of the Chicago Cultural Center.

2013-05-20 21:17:00

Ben Zuber, left, is interviewed by son Aaron, right, in the StoryCorps recording booth installed in the Chicago Cultural Center.

2013-05-19 12:19:00

Why go: The informational expo will include keynotes by Pitchfork Media President Chris Kaskie, Thirst design firm founder Rick Valicenti and Sunday Dinner Club founders Christine Cikowski and Joshua Kulp. Reconsider: You just need someone to listen to your demo and make you a pop star.

2013-02-27 13:27:00