A Chicago Blues Pilgrimage (Part 1 of 2)

This month, I'd like to tell you about another pilgrimage I made last month to Chicago. I am very fortunate that my day job affords me the opportunity to travel to places like San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, DC as it widens my musical horizons. When the planets align and I can see a blues show on the road, I think I am one of the luckiest columnists here at Cosmik Debris.

I left the greater Chicago area over 24 years ago for a job managing movie theatres in Seattle. That was a great gig, too, but I've always had a special place in my heart for Chicago blues, largely because I frequented blues and folk clubs like (the old) Wise Fools Pub, the Earl of Old Town, Orphans, Biddy Mulligans, and enjoyed the heaping helpings of blues that ChicagoFest used to offer. ChicagoFest is history, but this year marks the 22nd annual Chicago Blues Festival, June 9-12 in Grant Park, and it's the largest free blues festival in the world.

Well, in the first part of a two-part tribute to the City of the Big Shoulders, I'm going to shout about the Jazz Record Mart, the world's largest jazz and blues record store not far from Michigan Avenue, one of the world's prime shopping destinations. Along the way, we'll bump into Bob Koester, the store's owner and founder of Delmark Records, and learn a little bit more about Chicago blues.

Next month, we'll dive deep into the 50th Anniversary Boxed Set from Delmark Records, and shout about two great releases that I discovered with Bob Koester's help a few weeks ago: Willie Kent's exceptional Make Room for the Blues and Francine Griffiths' sublime jazz vocals on her Delmark CD, Songbird. I'll wrap up this two-parter with a few recommendations for some other blues-related destinations that I plan to visit this year to re-experience Chicago blues first-hand. If my luck holds, I hope to have a preview of this year's Chicago Blues Festival in the next installment as well.

I lost all track of time in Jazz Record Mart. The store bills itself as the world's largest jazz and blues record store, and I thought even that was an understatement as I looked (and found) treasures among the long and crowded rows of CDs and vinyl recordings.

I was deciding about an obscure German import of a live Howlin' Wolf show on Selected Sound Carrier records as it contained some of my favorite Wolf cuts like "Howlin' for My Darlin'" and "Forty-Four," but I noticed that "Dust My Broom" was the third song in the set. So, Wolf's a keeper, I put that in my shopping basket. The sound is a little ragged, but so was live blues captured in the 50's and 60's. There's an end cap in the middle of the store for local musicians to sell their wares, and it was good to see releases from local bluesmen and women like Mike Gibb and the Homewreckers, 2005 WC Handy nominee Nora Jean Bruso, and local players who've recorded on Delmark Records like Willie Kent and the Gents and Byther Smith.

I noticed an older gentleman man climbing atop a metal desk chair to replace a battery in the store's burglar alarm above the front door. I had seen Bob Koester's picture on his web site, and sure enough, Bob was working at his store that Saturday morning. He bounded down from the chair and grumbled loudly to anyone who would listen about having the wrong batteries for the unit. I had heard that he once called himself a curmudgeon or his manner irascible, but that's just an act. Spend just a few minutes with him, and he'll reminisce about his early work at Delmark Records and talk about some of his favorite jazz and blues musicians, too. I mentioned I was from the greater Seattle area, and his eyes sparkled.

"Seattle," he thought as be rubbed his chin. "Bud's Jazz Records. He's still there, isn't he? Man, that's a great store out there."

"You should talk, Mr. Koester," I replied as respectfully as possible - I'm sure jazz and blues fans from around the world bend his ear when they visit Chicago. "Bud's still there in Seattle's Pioneer Square, but your store is incredible. I'm on a pilgrimage and it's an honor to meet you."

If your jazz interests run toward Sonny Stitt, Muhal Richard Abrams, or the Windy City Six, Bob's a treasure trove of information on these players. After all, he brought them to the attention of a much wider audience through his label and the Jazz Record Mart.

After asking him a few questions about his store, he gave me a quick lesson in female jazz vocals. I added Francine Griffiths' excellent Delmark Records collection of jazz vocals, Songbird, to my shopping basket and Bob's mood brightened considerably. I have to be fair: it was past lunchtime, and I was keeping him from lunch, but he was a gracious host under these circumstances.

I wandered down the aisles and Bob bounced back up onto the chair. He smiled as he told his staff he was ready for lunch, and that the burglar alarm was finally fixed.

Bob has a small display case that contains just a whiff of national recognition that he's received behind a cracked window. There's his Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation, as well as a letter signed by Mayor Daley (the younger). I looked around the store for a more suitable and splashy place for Bob to have an "I love me" wall display, but I'm sure he would have none of it. The walls were covered with CDs, tapes and records, and posters of jazz giants. Still, I wish he would display things like his AGES (Achieving Greater Economic Success) Award from the Blues Music Association, the blues' trade association. Bob was the inaugural recipient of that award, recognizing his business acumen and artistic talent in spotting jazz and blues talent. In 2003, in honor of a half-century contributing to jazz and blues, Bob was awarded a Hero Award from the Chicago Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS, the folks behind the GRAMMY awards). That same year, he received a Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation.

While that recognition is important for Bob Koester's life's work, my guess is that he'd probably prefer to focus on jazz and blues artists that strike a chord within him rather than shout about his own accomplishments.

Next month, we'll dig deep into Delmark Records' 50th Anniversary Boxed Set and check out the releases from Willie Kent and Francine Griffiths. Until then, discover Delmark Records: stay current on Jazz Record Mart's in-store performance line-up, read about the quarterly Rhythm and News newsletter, and specials and new releases at www.jazzmart.com.

© 2005 - Eric Steiner