Bop Stop - John Chacona writes

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO July 25 – Aug. 1

Published 25 July, 2024 By John Chacona

Friendly experiencers,

Has it really been this long? A few weeks ago, I announced a sort of summer vacation for let’s call this and the Thursday Countdown while we dealt with renovating and moving into a house and dealing with some family health issues. Those haven’t gone away, but the urgency around them has momentarily eased a bit, making room for . . . well, this. With the move postponed until the end of August, I could sneak in this preview of some notable events, two of which are at my favorite price point and yours: free. See you out there.

In Baseball or Jazz, Lucas Apostoleris Plays In The Big Leagues

Published 16 July, 2024 By John Chacona

Do an Internet search for jazz and baseball and you’ll get no shortage of citations. Some of them are fascinating, most of them are sentimental and nearly all of them the are work of older men—further evidence that the once-“National Pastime” and “America’s Classical Music” (scare quotes intentional) are strictly for the AARP set. Enter Lucas Apostoleris a 31-year-old drummer who responds to that notion the way Jose Ramirez does to a hanging curve over the plate. Track, wall, gone!

Don’t look now, but baseball has become a young man’s game, at least on the field, and the athletic young band Apostoleris will bring to BOP STOP Sunday are a Futures Game-level lineup of talent on the rise.

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Poetry: It’s What Composer and Multi-Instrumentalist Aaron Irwin Is (after)

Published 2 July, 2024 By John Chacona

Before the comments section, before digital sampling, before AI large language models, there was after. As seen in titles, it signals the venerable practice of a poet responding or replying to, elaborating on, refuting or outright imitating the work of another poet. And it’s the organizing principle behind the music that multi-instrumentalist Aaron Irwin will bring to BOP STOP Sunday.

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Turning To Gold: Chicago Singer Alyssa Allgood Makes Her Cleveland Debut

Published 25 June, 2024 By John Chacona

Not long ago, I would receive several CDs a week by female jazz singers who hoped to be the next big thing. These releases announced themselves by their packaging: over-the-top glam shots on the front cover and credits for wardrobe, hair and makeup on the back, and they were almost uniformly dreary affairs.

Alyssa Allgood may or may not be the next big thing, but the Chicagoan who makes her Cleveland debut at BOP STOP Friday, is assertively not one of those jazz singers.

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Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO June 6-13

Published 7 June, 2024 By John Chacona

Friendly experiencers,

Forget the headline of this post. The question this week is how to decide where to go & what to hear Friday night. Between an A-list Jamey Haddad quartet hit, a night of Roma jazz in beautiful CVNP and a powerhouse band led by saxophonist John Petrucelli, that’s a tall order. And that’s only if you won’t be at The Treelawn for Fred Hersch (see you there?). Still, this is a good problem to have and there is no wrong answer to this question. Whichever you choose, let me know what you heard and how you liked it. I’ll open the comments to this post, but please keep it clean and respectful.

Tag: Bop Stop

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO July 25 – Aug. 1

In Baseball or Jazz, Lucas Apostoleris Plays In The Big Leagues

Poetry: It’s What Composer and Multi-Instrumentalist Aaron Irwin Is (after)

Turning To Gold: Chicago Singer Alyssa Allgood Makes Her Cleveland Debut

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO June 6-13