Chicago has a heritage rich in blues and jazz. This cover shows one of the musicians who played at Willie Dixon’s New Orleans style funeral in 1992. You can feel the emotion in the musician’s sad face.

Who was Willie Dixon? If you enjoyed the #1 Rolling Stones hit “Little Red Rooster,” or the famous song from Led Zeppelin’s first album “I Can’t Quite Quit You Baby,” or “Spoonful” from Cream, you know him; he wrote these songs.

He was instrumental in the formation of what became known as Chicago blues by taking Delta blues, amplifying it and putting it into a small-band context. Adding drums, bass, piano and sometimes saxophones to the basic string band and harmonica aggregation, the genre created the now standard blues band lineup. The form was flexible to accommodate singers, guitarists, pianists and harmonica players as the featured performer in front of the standard instrumentation.

Chicago has many great blues clubs, all with their unique characteristics and style. We’ve included a description of some we like best.

B.L.U.E.S.
2519 N. Halsted
773-528-1012

Blue Chicago
536 N. Clark Street
312-661-0100

Blue Chicago
736 N. Clark, 312-642-6261

House of Blues
329 N. Dearborn, 312-923-2000
Check club for music – music type changes

Kingston Mines
2548 N. Halsted Street
773-472-2031
A famous north side club, Kingston Mines boasts two stages running every night. It’s not unusual to meet famous musicians here. We once met Buddy Miles in Kingston Mines late one night.

Lee’s Unleaded Blues
7401 S. South Chicago Ave., 773-493-3477
Southside club for the more adventurous.

New Checkerboard Lounge for Blues ‘n’ Jazz
5201 S. Harper Ct.
773-684-1472
Re-opened famous club near University of Chicago

Rosa’s Lounge
3420 W. Armitage
773-342-0452
Recognized by the New York Times, Rosa’s describes itself as the friendliest club in Chicago.

The Smoke Daddy Rhythm & Bar-B-Que
1804 W. Division St.
773-772-6656
Good local reviews and great ribs!

Underground Wonder Bar
10 East Walton
312-255-7761
Easy to find and  just off Michigan Ave. Funky jazz bluesy folk rockin’ reggae and everything in between. Open 365 nights a year ‘til 4am! Check club for music – music type changes.

Suburbs

West

FitzGerald’s
6615 W. Roosevelt Rd.
Berwyn
708-788-2118
A mix of music. Call club for details

Harlem Avenue Lounge
3701 South Harlem Ave.
Berwyn
708-484-3610
Live music Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sat.

Frankie’s Blue Room
16 W. Chicago Ave.
Naperville
630-416-4898
In the western suburbs of Naperville, Frankie’s offer an eclectic lineup of live music that includes blues, jump, rock, cajun, salsa and rockabilly.

Northwest

Shaw’s Crab House
1900 E. Higgins Rd.
Schaumburg
847-517-2722
Live blues & jazz Tues, Thurs, and Friday. Call for details.

North

Bill’s Blues
1029 West Davis
Evanston
847-424-9800

Jazz

Modern day Jazz in Chicago goes back to the early 1920’s when probably one of the most famous musicians, Louis Armstrong moved to Chicago to play New Orleans style jazz with his mentor Joe Oliver. New Orleans style took Chicago by storm and soon after, many other musicians from the south came north to play in Chicago.           

In the 1940’s, big band & swing jazz became popular by “west side” artists like Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa. This style of music became blended with smaller more improvisational “south side” bands which evolved into Be-Bop.

Avant Garde Jazz also started in Chicago, The music of the 1960s was reflective of the changing values, civil and civil unrest of the ‘60s.  Artists like Thelonius Monk, Lennie Tristano, and Miles Davis started expressing their interest in freedom from traditional music in this improvisational style.

Here’s a sampling of the clubs we’re familiar with in Chicago. In reality, you won’t find a bad club, the music is too important in Chicago!

Andy’s Jazz Club
11 East Hubbard, 312-642-6805
Close to Michigan Avenue. A traditional straight ahead club where they offer the best in local talent. We like their “jazz at lunch” program if you want to catch a little music during the daytime.

The Backroom
1007 N. Rush St, 312-751-2433

Green Dolphin Street
2200 North Ashland
773-395-0066
A beautiful large venue playing everything from Salsa to big band and attached to their upscale seafood restaurant. Check club for music – music type changes

The Green Mill
4802 N. Broadway
773-878-5552
North of downtown, this small club has claims on being the oldest club in the U.S., with a lot of history from the Al Capone era.

HotHouse
31 E. Balbo
312-362-9707
Opened in the last 10 years, NY feel with experimental music. Their music changes so call first.

Jazz Showcase
59 West Grand Avenue
312-670-2473
Like it says, a showcase for great music. Not a socializing venue.

Joe’s Be-Bop Café at Navy Pier
700 E. Grand Ave.
312-595-JAZZ

New Apartment Lounge
504 East 75th Street
773-483-7728
Southside Be-Bop club frequented by Von Freeman, a jazz saxophone player important enough in Chicago Jazz history that the street in front of the club has been named after him.

New Checkerboard Lounge for Blues ‘n’ Jazz
5201 S. Harper Ct.
773-684-1472
Re-opened famous club near University of Chicago

Pops For Champagne
2934 N. Sheffield, 773-472-1000

Underground Wonder Bar
10 East Walton, 312-266-7761
Easy to find and  just off Michigan Ave. Funky jazz bluesy folk rockin’ reggae and everything in between. Open 365 nights a year ‘til 4am! Check club for music – music type changes.

Velvet Lounge
2128 S. Indiana Ave.
312-791-9050
Small quintessential neighborhood (not fancy) club owned by the sax master Fred Anderson.

Suburbs – North/Northwest

Pete Miller’s Evanston
1557 Sherman, Evanston
847-328-0399

Pete Miller’s Wheeling
412 N. Milwaukee, Wheeling
847-243-3700
In the northern suburbs of Evanston and Wheeling, the two Pete Miller’s locations are the leading suburban jazz venues combining great Jazz, dining and billiards with no cover charge. It is so popular that Chicago artists seek it out.

If you’re in Chicago this summer, you can enjoy the 28th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival will be held in Grant Park on 8/31 – 9/3. This event attracts world class talent!

Thanks to the following for their help in compiling this information: Michael Siniscalchi of Delmark Records, www.delmark.com; Jay Sieleman of The Blues Foundation, www.blues.org; and Lauren Deutsch of The Jazz Institute of Chicago, www.jazzinstituteofchicago.org. Their web sites contain a wealth of information.