The Jazz Cat--Logan Square Art Center, Jam!

I ran into LeRoy Downs from Los Angeles California during the AfterFest, he and his girl were traveling on the CTA Blue Line to transfer to the Red Line, we started talking and sharing. I saw them in the audience at Elastics AfterFest Concert so they weren't complete strangers, just art patrons hanging out in Chicago. Here is what LeRoy had to say about The Chicago Jazz scene.

Complete Article by LeRoy Downs
http://www.thejazzcat.net/2011/10/21/the-chicago-jazz-festival-2011/

Excerpt:
The after-hours hit was up North at the Logan Square/Avondale Art Center, right at the corner of Milwaukee and Division. Now, I don't know how Chitown is doing without the Velvet Lounge and Fred Anderson's contributions to the art and the city, but all the cats are here tonight! Intersections, Asian Improv Records, and the AACM are all responsible for booking the cats for this series of concerts sponsored by Asian Improv Records.

Susan Fox, producer of "Intersections" at Elastic Sound and Vision Gallery

Took the trip on the Blue Line Train back to where the 6 points converge at the source; the Elastic, Avant Guard, after-hours, late-night, Logan Square Art Center, Jam! If you seek the points, ye shall find where it all happens, where it all begins.

You must be present to experience music. Three didgeridoos, a wood block, and the strings of a bass tapped with chopsticks make for music that is out of this world! No book or the excitement of other people's forays into adventurous music, or any recording for that matter, could ever make you feel, heal, or understand. You must be present to prosper from the gift of sound. 12:49 AM, and the 2nd set has just gotten underway. I know it is late, and I know all 20 reasons why you are not here, but really, what are you gonna do for the rest of your life? Where is your excitement? What is your reason for inhabiting this planet? Why are you here? 

If your answers are to live, think, grow rich, seek, question, discover, and realize, then the vibration of music is a potent source of nutrients for your being! The mantras in the music will bring you back to your true self and help you rediscover the wonderful mysteries of love waiting for you to reclaim. This knowledge is for you, and music expressed freely with no constraints is one path to self-enlightenment!

LeRoy Downs
The Jazzcat.Tel
424-210-JAZZ