The Chicago Jazz Collective is a performing soul-jazz band that thrives on audience interaction. They team up with featured vocalist Dee Alexander, adding warm soulful tones that drip with passion. They take us on a trip to the 1960s-70s R&B scene. It’s still got that cool groove courtesy of the rhythm section, with Amr Fahmy (keyboards), Larry Brown, Jr. (g, vocals), Andrew Vogt (b), Keith Brooks II (d), and co-leaders Marques Carrol (t) and John Fournier (t-sax). The lyrics speak of the era on songs like “The Man Is Coming Back” and “Carry Me”. We also enjoyed the head-bobbing groove of “Crazy Wrong”, “Nothing Good Ever Goes Away” and “Sweet Things”. On The Way To Be Free is a throwback that works!