Jazzy fresh duo, Big Gigantic released a banger of a follow up album earlier this month following 2010’s “A Place Behind The Moon.” The January 2012 release, “Nocturnal,” is a big step toward the band’s developing maturity and talent, but perhaps not a gigantic one. As its name implies, “Nocturnal” is a darker, dubbier version of the band’s smooth and sunny 2010 release.

Right from the start, Saxophonist/Producer, Dominic Lalli and beat master, Jeremy Salken, jump into “The Uprising,” a gritty hitter that shows off the duo’s ability to really dub it down.  The title track is also a dynamic showcase of Lalli’s ability to blend soulful sax, wobbly bass, with a techno infused finish.

All of that is perhaps mute to the real meat of the album. From the gut wrenchingly raw synth sound in the hip-hop inspired “Hopscotch,” to the bounce-heavy “Beginning of The End” and down to “It’s Goin Down.” The latter of this mid-album array of consecutive bass heavy tracks really shows the duo’s longing to bring their live energy through your headphones. High energy, impressive sax solos, heavy synths and a drop that’s to die for.

Salken does get to have a little bit more fun on this album. His beats are a bit more playful and the handful of drum fills he puts together rests on the low ends of each track like an unexpected kiss of variation from the build-up, breakdown, and repeat cycle that has come to define much of the electronic music today. Lalli’s sax riffs, though impressive, sound all too similar to those heard time and time again with a slightly altered bassline of a backbone. For example check out the incredible similarities between “Eyes Closed” from Nocturnal’s B-Side and “High and Rising” from the 2010 record.

Finishing out the album with a soaring melody in “Stronger,” Big Gigantic really does leave you feeling empowered. The throbbing wobble bass and repetitious synth lines have not altered much since the duo formed in 2008. But this 11-track release is a solid effort by a talented group who has been selling out tour dates and is getting ready to gear up for a vicious festival run including stops at Ultra, Bella Music Festival and Wakarusa from lineups that have been announced to date.

Video from Big Gigantic’s New Year’s Eve show in Chicago.
Video Credit: Big Gigantic

It was good to hear them step up the vigor and rawness on this record even if they didn’t sway too much from their original recipe. In order to really give Big Gigantic justice, one must go see one of their live shows. Like most groups in the genre, they have most fun on stage.

You can download Nocturnal from their website. They are also on the last leg of a winter tour that runs through the first weekend in March. Keep it jazzy. Keep it soulful. Keep it real.

Thank you for checking out my blog. Check me out on Facebook. Till next time. Rage on.

The golden aura of the theater lobby illuminated the cracked sidewalk of Chicago’s south loop. The city block leading up to the venue that night was surrounded by construction signs, concrete dust and littered with long-haired smiling faces that were ready to kick off their New Year’s weekend with a jaw dropping event.

This Friday night spectacular was held in the beautiful Auditorium Theater at Roosevelt University. It was the first night of the Disco Biscuit’s New Year’s run and were accompanied by the live improvised dubstep duo EOTO and the European ambient house sensation Abakus.

Walking through the lobby of this magnificent gold-plated venue, pictures of naked Romanesk figures were scattered in-between delicately sculpted architecture and traditional hanging chandeliers. The ground was partly covered in mosaics and it seemed like a great place to see Shakespeare or a ballet; but seeing this place be taken over by the heady massive made one wonder just how much preparation was done for such an event.

Photo Credit: Auditorium Theater

Passing through the illuminating lobby into the venues interior, the interior architecture only became more awe-inspiring. I took my seat just as the soaring sounds of Abakus seized and EOTO started to set up. Sipping a small plastic cup worth of $6 beer, I began to soak in the venue in its entirety. The ceiling’s golden arches with bright bulbs made the stage shine and the golden grooves carved into the balconies glimmer. Red carpet covered the floor and the seat cushions. If it wasn’t for the hundreds of other seats surrounding mine, I would have felt like a king on a throne in the 16th century.

As EOTO were set to take the stage, the venue was surprisingly empty. A few scattered groups sat in their assigned seats quietly looking around. That’s right, assigned seats. One general complaint that kept being discussed was the fact that when you went to buy your tickets for this event, you had to choose a seat in which you would be assigned for the entire night. Luckily, the pleasant ushers at the theater did not enforce those ticketed seats as much as they just showed you how to get there. Those assigned seats didn’t sway those who attended as most just took a stand near the front of the stage and hooped in the aisle ways.

POP! Snapping me out of the hypnosis in which the venues aesthetic had me in, I look down toward the stage and see EOTO get comfortable before breaking into the first song of their set.

For it being such an extravagant venue, the sound was not that great. EOTO’s wubtastic improv sounded muffled and I could not make out a single word they were trying to sing. That didn’t matter much because of the smooth beats they were producing still were able to keep my attention. Throughout their set, EOTO had stage hands running on and off the stage as technical difficulties plagued almost every other song. But again, it didn’t matter much because being the true performers that they were, EOTO just kept grooving.

At one point, Michael Travis picked up his guitar and began shredding through String Cheese riffs as a stage hand had to take apart a section of Jason Hann’s drumset. What started as a lackluster set began to pick up near the end as the lighting started to synch and the crowd filed in. The biggest highlight, or at least the one that had everyone cheering, was the rendition of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” in which Hann spit every word of that tongue twister like hot fire.

Photo Credit: Josh Krol

By the end of the set the crowd was getting tired of the wubwubs, womps and the other electronic noises EOTO were producing. They were ready for jam and a couple String Cheese riffs here and there was just not enough for the heady hungry in attendance. So after the Hann’s signature hand drum solo, EOTO thanked the crowd and exited stage left.

After a small intermission and a smoke break the crowd started back to their seats. Then, with a roar of applause Disco Biscuits took the stage all smiles. After another big smile from front man Jon Gutwillig and a collective wave from the band, Biscuits signaled for the lights to dim and the headliners broke into song.

Now I am not a huge Disco Biscuits fan, nor do I know many of their songs, but the light show they produced along the tight jams they ran was nothing short of a spectacle. Brightly colored lights of every color shone brightly into the crowd. They even used the walls of the venue to create a tripped out light show unlike one I have ever seen. They were able to manipulate my mood with the feel of the music with the carefully crafted lights that could be seen on the ceiling, the walls, the stage and just about anywhere else your eyes could wander.

Photo Credit: Josh Krol

After two sets of about two hours each, the dust settled and the smoke cleared as my eyes glazed over and my head felt like a spinning color wheel. Here is a link to their entire set from that night.

Thank you for checking out my blog. Check me out on Facebook. Till next time. Rage on.

A lot has changed since the early 1900’s: two world wars, a depression, a handful of recessions and the invention of the television. It seems Chicago jazz has also changed drastically since the years of Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era.

Jazz was the first style of music to be created on American soil. New Orleans, a port city with doors open to Mexico and the Caribbean and a large African American population, is credited with the early development of jazz in the late 1910s.

Soon after, Chicago became the focal point of jazz as musicians found their way up the Mississippi River only to later land in one of the most populous cities of yesterday and today: Chicago.

Musicians agree that the prominence of jazz within Chicago has faded over the last half a century. Some credit Elvis’s swinging hips and the introduction of rock ‘n’ roll while others blame the fragmentation of the jazz genre. However, all agree that Chicago still has a strong reputation for jazz and believe the genre will stay alive within Chicago.

Robert Lewis, 74, is a professional jazz musician and classically trained trumpet player. Lewis has been part of the Chicago jazz scene since 1961 and is well versed in the development of jazz in the city of Chicago.

“In the 1920s New Orleans was considered to be one of the great jazz cities in America,” Lewis explained. “However, they say jazz floated up the Mississippi River and as a result Chicago gained a reputation of also becoming one of the other great jazz cities at the time.”

Back then crowds would pour in to classy night clubs with their finest evening wear and dancing shoes on and get ready to swing the night away. However, this changed after the 1950s.

Lewis commented on the effects rock ‘n’ roll had on the Chicago jazz community.

“After the arrival of rock ‘n’ roll, one by one the jazz clubs started to close,” Lewis explained. “Most of them were operating on a shoestring by the 1960s and the young folks tended more towards the rock ‘n’ roll style of music that was coming out at the time and left jazz by the wayside.”

The formation of new music genres over time has also helped in weakening the strong hold jazz once had on the city of Chicago.

After a late-night Chicago gig, professional jazz saxophonist Chris Greene commented on the impact new music genres had on jazz.

“Chicago jazz clubs used to allow a bit more experimentation, whether it was acid jazz, Latin jazz, funk fusion, bebop jazz or whatever. Clubs allowed experimentation,” Greene said. “Now it seems everything is a little more fragmented in a lot of ways. There are not a lot of places where a musician can mix up their styles. Maybe the clubs are underestimating the audience’s intelligence but it has definitely weakened the jazz community.”

This occurred as a result of the general decline public popularity of jazz and clubs started focusing in on niche jazz markets and audiences. As opposed to the 1920s when jazz was the popular music of the day, pop music culture today has altered drastically, causing jazz to fall off the pop charts.

Chicago jazz pianist Damian Espinosa explains this shift in popular music.

“You’re talking about a type of music that was popular in the 1930s. It was definitely the pop music of the day,” Espinosa said. “Obviously jazz is not the popular music of today. We are living in a world that follows the lines of the popular music tradition.”

The decline of jazz’s popularity has affected the audience/musician relationship that used to be a staple in the jazz scene.

Jim Sellers, a 45-year-old Chicago jazz pianist, explained, “It used to be that jazz musicians wore tuxedos or special outfits and did lots of things to get the audience involved. Nowadays, many musicians pay no attention to the audience – sometimes they don’t even pay attention to each other.”

After the 1940s, with the introduction of free form and other experimental types of jazz, the jazz genre become more of an art form and less of a musical force.

Nathan Bakkum, Director of Musicology at Columbia College Chicago, explained this shift. “The audience/musician relationship changes in the 1940s,” he said. “At that point, the tuxedos came off and musicians were asking everyone to be effected by this music. They are asking for the listener to be more of an active listener. What that does is that jazz does not reach as wide of an audience but those who are still finding and enjoying jazz are having a pretty profound experience.”

After mid-century, smaller audiences put away the dancing shoes and took a seat in dark night clubs in order to become that active listener.

Although Chicago jazz may not be the force it once was 90 years ago, jazz musicians are still hopeful and believe that the jazz spirit is still alive and well.

“There is a spirit in Chicago that is unlike anywhere else,” Lewis said. “Chicago has a reputation for being a great jazz city. It always has and it always will because of the amount of great musicians that are here in Chicago.”

Many Chicago colleges also offer jazz music and performance majors, including Columbia College Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago as well as various liberal arts and music schools across the country.

“This is part of the preservation process of jazz,” Bakkum said. “Jazz can be seen as America’s classical music similar to the great European composers. Just as jazz or classical music being preserved in the Smithsonian, part of it is being preserved as an artistic tradition in colleges.”

The shift within the jazz music genre is a unique Chicago trend. Jazz is still a central part of the music scene in the so-called birthplace of jazz, New Orleans. Other renowned jazz cities like Kansas City and New York are dealing with the shift in different ways.

“It’s about how a city defines itself,” Bakkum said. “In New Orleans there is a lot of power in the origin stories of jazz and the community makes it a point to keep jazz alive. New York is still considered the gravitational center for jazz. Chicago is still a great place to learn, teach and play jazz because it is not as cut throat as New York and allows a bit more leniency and less competition. But it is all about how a city defines itself and it seems Chicago has shifted its musical image since the 1920s.”

Espinosa explains that though jazz is not a big money maker in the music industry, Chicago is still a “good working town” for jazz musicians. Even if there are not as many jazz clubs as there used to be and the popularity of jazz has declined, on any given day you can find somewhere that is playing jazz music in the city of Chicago.

There are also many jazz clubs in Chicago where one can go to catch a live gig. Here are the top 5 jazz clubs musicians and critics love:

1.) Andy’s Jazz Club

Location: 11 E Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60611
Admission: $5-$20
Ages: 21+
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-2am; Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 11am-1am
Website: www.andysjazzclub.com

2.) Green Dolphin Street

Location: 2200 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
Admission: Free – $20
Ages: 21+
Hours: Tue-Thu 9pm-2am; Fri-Sat 8:30pm-3am; Sun 8pm-Midnight
Website: www.jazzitup.com

3.) Pops for Champagne

Location: 601 N State St, Chicago, IL 60657
Admission: Free – $15
Ages: 21+
Hours: Tue-Sat 8pm-2am
Website: www.popsforchampagne.com

4.) Velvet Lounge

Location: 67 East Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60616
Admission: $5-$25
Ages: 21+
Hours: Tue-Sun 8pm-2am
Website: www.velvetlounge.net

5.) Green Mill

Location: 4802 N Broadway Ave, Chicago, IL 60640
Admission: Free- $15
Ages21+
Hours: Daily Noon – 4am
Website: www.greenmilljazz.com

Written By: Joshua Krol

Handclaps, singlaongs and breakdowns, were a reoccurring theme Monday night as hometown bands, The Fold and Just Left, rocked Reggie’s Rock Club as they continue their fall tour through the Midwest.

The Fold is headlining their first independent tour without a label backing. A Fork in the Road, A Knife in the Turkey tour has four other bands signed on which include Chicago based pop punk band Just Left as well as alternative bands The Right Coast and The Status. The tour kicked off last Friday with two shows in Michigan making Chicago the third stop along the way.

Just Left kicked off the 7 p.m. show with a high energy pop punk set. These upbeat Chicago rockers incorporated heavy bass lines and catchy guitar riffs into their songs as young teeny bopper scene girls aligned the front railing.

“We love coming home and playing here in Chicago because it gives us that hometown feel,” Just Left’s guitarist Tim Weglarz said, “being home and seeing familiar surroundings is really rejuvenating.”

They were followed by another head nod-able pop punk band known as The Right Coast. These Pennsylvania players laid down rock friendly riffs over pop melodies to create a sound similar to major influence All Time Low.

As the night wore on the atmosphere shifted from loud and fast punk rock to a more melodic, alternative mode. This could be heard in the bands styles as well as be seen in the crowd as the teens left and the 21+ crowd filed in.

The Status was next on the lineup. These Atlanta natives ripped through a solid alternative set with tight melodies and rock-n-roll hooks.

As The Fold started setting up their equipment the crowd went to grab a beer from the bar and anxiously awaited their hometown heroes to take the stage.

When asked before the show how he would describe their sound lead singer and guitarist of The Fold, Daniel Castady, jokingly responded, “Picture if Jimmy Eat World and Weezer sat down for lunch and Foo Fighters came by for desert.”

The foot stomping 12 song set list included songs from each of their five albums along with a cover of the Fountains of Wayne hit “Stacy’s Mom.”

As they begun the last song aptly named “Neverender,” which will be featured on the new Tony Hawk video game, the band was all smiles as they thanked the “night owls” for staying out past 11 p.m. for the conclusion of their set.

Molly Cowan, 18, of Chicago has been following The Fold for a couple years and loves their personality and sound.

“They are really nice guys who are really talented,” she said.

The tour is a promotional tool for The Fold’s new album “Dear Future, Come Get Me” which was released in October.  The tour is a mere 12 gig, two week stint because, according to the band, they do the meat of their touring in the spring and summer months.

After leaving Tooth and Nail Records last year after their contract expired, The Fold jumped into the studio anxious to create an independent album. They are curious to see how the fans will react.

Castady is excited about breaking free from the label and anxious to play the new material on tour.

“We are doing this independently. We know we are not going to give up on this right away like a label would so let’s just do a slow build, make sure people are loving it, make sure people can buy (the album) as low as they can if not for free, and get ready for a bigger tour in the spring and summer.”

The Fold will be back in Chicago opening for Lucky Boy’s Confusion on Dec. 27 at the Metro.

My name is Joshua Michael Krol. I am an outgoing and driven individual. I have a passion for writing, music, and life. I am a current journalism undergraduate student at Columbia College Chicago. I am a freelance writer and musician. Writing gives me the opportunity to express my personal voice while being informative. I have high aspirations for myself. Life is short so we must live it well. I appreciate you taking the time to look over my blog. I hope you enjoy yourself and feel free to leave comments.

Best,

Josh