Jeff Swanson's Case-fitter

Jeff Swanson

Jeff Swanson's Case-fitterGarver Feed Mill Patio — Friday, September 3, 2021 — 7PM

By Michael Brenneis

Interview date: 08/19/2021

Guitarist/Composer Jeff Swanson joins me to talk about his group Case-fitter in advance of their first gig in umpteen months -- upcoming on the Garver Patio. This sextet of accomplished Chicago-based interpreters and improvisers, including saxophonist Greg Ward and drummer Greg Artry, lets loose on Jeff’s original compositions that are equal parts intricate and visceral.


Hanging Hearts

Hanging Hearts' Chris Weller

Hanging HeartsGarver Feed Mill Patio — Friday, August 27, 2021 — 7PM

By Michael Brenneis

Interview date: 08/03/2021

Along with drummer Quin Kirchner, Chicago's Hanging Hearts consists of Cole DeGenova and Chris Weller, two Oak Park high school chums who went on to formulate their musical identities at Boston's Berklee College of Music during the first decade of this century. Tone Madison's own Scott Gordon describes the band as "brash and frequently exuberant" and "moving between surging, rock-inspired melodies one moment and fragmented free jazz the next." I dialed up saxophonist Chris Weller to get the low down on the band, his other projects, and his role with Big Fish Booking -- one of today's premier creative music booking and management agencies.