[nat sound of jazz performance, slowly fading out]
There are many ways to spend a Wednesday night in Evanston. You can knock out work in Mudd Library, shoot pool with friends in Norris, or, for those in a musical mood, enjoy two hours of live jazz at Prairie Moon, a popular restaurant located just south of campus.
[nat sound fades out]
Since the pandemic, Prairie Moon has partnered with the Fulton Street Collective, an arts-promoting organization, to host jazz themed events. During “Moon Jazz”, each Wednesday between 9 and 11 pm, attendees hear a performance from various professional musicians. A seven dollar cover charge is collected, which helps support the artists.
The restaurant holds Jazz Jam Sessions as well every first Thursday of the month. These events are free and open to the public, who can come up on stage and play. They also feature Grammy award winning bassist Clark Sommers.
[nat sound of Royal Phrases, gradually fading out]
Most of its members had played separately with each other before. But on Wednesday, the lineup of trombonist Andrew Meyer, trumpet player Andrew Egizio, bassist Chris Nolte, drummer Joel Baer and pianist Carl Kennedy made their first collective appearance. Dubbed “The Andrew Meyer Quintet”, their two-set performance featured a variety of music, including classic standards like “Yardbird Suite” and original compositions like “Royal Phrases”, the song you’re hearing right now.
Andrew Meyer: “I tend to write original compositions that are either reflective of an experience I had or they’re reflective of inspiration I have from other people, like friends or other artists. So in that case, it was based on Roy Hargrove’s ‘Mental Phrasing’. And so ‘Royal Phrases’, that’s what that was.”
That’s Meyer, who composed the song. The band also performed a piece written by Egizio.
[nat sound of a solo from Carl Kennedy during the performance]
Whether it’s watching solos unfold in real-time, or seeing musicians communicate to change a tune mid-song, Kennedy says live jazz is an experience like no other.
Carl Kennedy: “When you’re there live, you start to see the interactions in a different way. What may have sounded chaotic on a record in your ex-boyfriend’s car … all of a sudden you’re seeing how the interactions, you’re seeing how the musicians are responding to each other.”
[more nat sound of the performance]
Moon Jazz returns next week, with a slated appearance from the Millie Ahearn Quintet. For Craig Morgan, a regular Prairie Moon customer who attended this week’s show, it’s a set he won’t miss.
Vidyuth Sridhar: So will you be coming out here for next week?
Craig Morgan: “I will, and the week after that. And I was here the week before that, and the week before that and the week before that. Yes, this is my hump day quota of jazz.”
Swinging along to the rhythm, Vidyuth Sridhar, WNUR News.
[nat sound of the band closing their set, with clapping in the background fading out to a close]
