Chicago Soul

Jazz Collective

Soul jazz: The title alone suggests a magical but somehow elusive genre. Is it heard in Herbie Hancock’s funky piano on songs like “Watermelon Man,” the ragged guitar and free-form vocals of James “Blood” Ulmer or the saxophone grooves on Cannonball Adderley’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”? Although it can’t be strictly defined in words, when you hear the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective’s blend of New Orleans horns, funky rhythms and gospel-tinged, shout-it-out vocals, your ears give you the answer.

New City Music