Jazz Showcase's Upcoming Shows

Born in Havana, pianist, composer and arranger Chuchito Valdés (Jesús Valdés Jr.) comes from one of the most distinguished musical families of Cuba. The son of legendary Cuban pianist Jesús “Chucho” Valdés, Chuchito also learned from listening to the recordings of his grandfather, Bebo Valdés, one of Cuba’s greatest composers. He was a child prodigy who studied with many Cuban masters, including his father. He has studied extensively, Cuban music, Classical music and Jazz piano. He has recorded and performed piano with the world renowned Cuban band, Irakere, which he led for 2 years. Chuchito Valdes’ Afro-Cuban Ensemble performs contemporary Afro-Cuban originals along with arrangements of classic Cuban standards by his father. With an expansive repertoire that makes room for traditional Cuban melodies like “Tres Lindas Cubanas'”next to compositions from John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”, the ensemble peppers their sets with Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz standards, intelligent originals and infectious rhythms. He has performed at festivals,clubs and concerts throughout the world. When Chuchito is not travelling around the world performing, he lives in Cancun, Mexico, where he leads his Afro-Cuban based Latin-Jazz ensemble.

In August 1979, the ensemble was the opening band on the first night of the First Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. 46 years later, the CJO stands as not only the oldest professional big band in Chicago, but also the second oldest professional civic jazz orchestra in the United States (second only to the Columbus Jazz Orchestra).

Dakarai Barclay is a trumpet player and educator based in Chicago, Illinois. With each performance,  Dakarai seeks to pay homage to the origins of Black American music, in all its forms, and those whose legacies we are indebted to. Outside of leading his own projects, Dakarai has played with musicians such as Willerm Delisfort, Winard Harper, Marlene Rosenberg, Jarrard Harris, Ernest Dawkins, Emma Blau and many more.

Cameron Pfiffner/ Saxophones and Flute Pat Mallinger / Saxophones  Pete Benson / Organ Neil Hemphill/  Drums  Founded around 1990, Sabertooth is led by two saxophonists:  Cameron Pfiffner & Pat Mallinger. The band started out with the unique pairing of its two lead reedmen at an old musicians hang called Jazz Bulls in Lincoln Park West neighborhood of Chicago. From that night’s collaboration the idea of Sabertooth began to take shape with a driving force behind the widely varied stylings best summed up as, “just groove it”. Sabertooth has often ventured beyond soul-jazz and hard bop and moved into post-bop and modal territory with John Coltrane’s modal recordings of the early to mid-’60s influencing the groups sound. Sabertooth is both a post-bop group and a soul-jazz/hard bop group with a highly diverse repertoire that includes many original compositions and jazz classics by Duke Ellington, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Lester Young, John Coltrane, as well as covers by the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Marley. Special invited guests who have performed with Sabertooth have included Harry Conick Jr., Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis Band, Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco, Umphrey’s Mcgee Band, and many others. Sabertooth has also performed for numerous jazz festivals, concerts and private engagements.