I was walking down Clark Street yesterday when I ran into John Corbett. John Corbett is, among many other things, one of the prime movers behind the ongoing Jazz Series at The Empty Bottle. We casually exchanged pleasantries and then John said, "You should come down to the Empty Bottle on Wednesday. It's Von Freeman with Misha Mangelberg and Han Bennink. It should be very special evening." I told John that if I were in town I would certainly attend the show. After saying goodbye to Mr. Corbett, I went home to find out who in the hell were Misha Mangelberg and Han Bennink. I already knew that Von Freeman was one of Chicago's most esteemed tenor saxophonists, but these other two guys, I couldn't even pronounce their names. As it turns out, Misha Mangelberg and Han Bennink are two of the top Dutch jazz improvisers and rarely come to the United States, making tonight's performance something very special indeed. While the two Dutchmen are apt to fly off the map with their improvisational flights of fancy, Mr. Freeman should help ground them into performing within more conventional jazz terms. Corbett's Jazz Series at the Empty Bottle has been bringing some of the world's most intriguing and talented artists to Chicago for quite some time and has helped spur some well-deserved interest in the avant-garde community both here and nationally. Now if more people would just come out to see some of these shows. . .
by Mitch Myers
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