CSJC at The Venue

Rounding out the evening at 9 p.m. will be The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective. In 2017, The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective began paying tribute to old soul jazz records and quickly realized there was more there for the band to uncover. Adding original compositions by saxophonist John Fournier, this ensemble not only pays tribute to the great soul jazz recordings from the past but pushes forward with new music…

Jazz Times

“The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective shouldn’t be accused of false advertising; they are exactly what their name suggests. On their second recording, they begin to move away from the classic repertoire (and its long shadows) that made their debut recording Soulophone more of a position paper than a celebration. Here, they roll with seven originals that show the band finding its footing, merging its influences, and beginning to assert an independent spirit and voice…”

American Songwriter

““I try not to overwrite,” he says. “With a lot of jazz albums, you can tell the writer is trying to write complicated harmonies and rhythms. I try to write simply so the band can settle into it and do more with it. I would describe it as a satisfying listen. It’s emotionally rewarding without being too difficult to follow. You can follow the melodies and the form. You can hear what each player is doing and how it all fits together.””

Americana Highways

“Once upon a time in 2017, tenor saxophonist John Fournier and trumpeter Marques Carroll, between takes at a recording session with famed singer-songwriter Robbie Fulks, struck up a conversation in which they discovered that were both dealing with the tumultuous state of the world in much the same manner – by listening to and taking solace in their classic soul jazz records…”

What's new on WDCB?...with Paul Abella

“The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective is a crew of top-notch Chicago musicians - John Fournier (tenor sax), Marques Carroll (trumpet), Amr Marcin Fahmy (piano), Larry Brown, Jr (guitar), Andrew Vogt (bass), and Keith Brooks (drums) - who got together and released one of my favorite albums of the year…”

SongFacts

“In 2019, Billie Eilish asked the question, When we all fall asleep, where do we go? on her song "Bury A Friend." Here, Chicago Soul Jazz Collective spin that sentiment into a love song, asking the lady where she ends up in her dreams. Is it Paris on a carpet ride? Up over the rainbow?”

”The big question, though, is, Do you ever dream of me?”

First Listen: Raul Midón helps the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective to "Dream"

“It Takes a Spark to Start a Fire drops on Oct. 30, but the Collective released the swinging single “Where Do You Go When You Dream” on Oct. 2. And when I say this tune swings, I mean it really SWINGS.”

Chicago Soul Jazz Collective, “Her Eyes Are Blue and Sometimes Gray” [Song Premiere]

“John Fournier explains that while at first, the band played it at a faster-pace, it was when they played it at a much slower tempo that the composition “revealed itself to be a haunting and wistful composition…It had a mesmerizing effect on us.””

Kari-On Productions

“From the very beginning this group has had a spark. The concerts are well attended hard-grooving affairs and the recordings for this album were cut live and the vibe flows so easily from this ensemble that it has grown from being a fun side project to a musical force to be reckoned with.”

Glide Magazine Review

“It seems only fitting in this year that marks the 80th anniversary of Blue Note, the premier label of the 1960’s Soul Jazz Era, that we have a current ensemble re-working some of that classic material. Some of this music has already been released digitally but now the physical album is available to all who crave that infectious Soul Jazz sound.”

The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective plays it cool on Nocturnal Journal

ave Hoekstra welcomes The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective featuring John Fournier, on tenor sax, Macon Fahmy on piano, Brian Courage on acoustic bass and Keith Brooks on drums. Together they play classics from the 1960s soul jazz era like Chicago’s own Ramsey Lewis and Eddie Harris.