Tea & Pipes
Tuesdays, 4–4:30 p.m., Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.
There is something magical about Rockefeller Chapel. Perhaps it’s the late Gothic Revival architecture, the immense vaulted ceilings, or the cascade of colors from the stained glass above the altarpiece that reflects across the pulpit. But some might say the real centerpiece is the towering E.M. Skinner organ. Built in 1928 and restored in 2008, the instrument features 8,565 pipes arranged in 132 ranks. UChicago alum Thomas Weisflog, who recently celebrated 25 years as the University’s organist, brings the instrument to life on Tuesday afternoons. Each week, he curates a new playlist, sharing the history behind each piece and the sections of the organ it showcases.
Always happy to greet those who linger after the performance, Weisflog is often promptly surrounded by a small group of students, alumni, and locals who gather around his console. “I just love this organ!” he blissfully exclaimed after his October 14 performance, his joy reminiscent of a painter before a blank canvas.
When asked how he curates each week’s playlist, he laughed. “Sometimes at the very last minute,” he said, before explaining that his goal is to showcase the instrument without overwhelming the audience. “No one wants to listen to ten minutes of fortissimo,” a lesson he learned from a piano teacher back in the ’60s.
Indeed, while this week’s closing performance of Seth Bingham’s Baroques suite made the floor vibrate with its dramatic, thunderous ending, the rest of the program—including Benjamin Britten’s “Prelude and Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria,” Flor Peeters’s “ARIA,” Felix Mendelssohn’s “Prelude in G Major,” and Paul Hindemith’s “Sonata No. 2”—offered a well-balanced mix of slow, delicate, and intimate waltz-like melodies alongside more powerful and majestic movements.
Note: Before taking a seat in the pews, attendees can help themselves to a complimentary cup of Rishi tea and a Biscoff cookie. Dog and cat treats are also set out for four-legged companions, who are welcome at all performances.
Live Jazz at Jimmy’s
Sundays, 8–11 p.m., West Room of Woodlawn Tap, 1172 East 55th Street.
Woodlawn Tap, better known as Jimmy’s (after its original owner, Jimmy Wilson), has been a Hyde Park staple since 1948. On Sunday nights, the West Room, a long, dimly lit space lined with billiard lights and set apart from the main bar, fills with the sound of live jazz.
Shortly before the music started on October 19, regulars and first-timers grabbed a drink in the main room. Among them was Rich Nayer, an actor, producer, and musician whose son once took lessons from the quartet’s trumpeter, Curtis Black. “I can tell you everything you want to know about it,” he said, motioning for me to take a seat beside him. A Hyde Park local, Nayer comes every other week to see Black and his ensemble perform a mix of jazz solos and pieces by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and more.
It didn’t take a seasoned attendee to notice that Black, a trumpet player born and raised in New York, was in charge. On a stage framed by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking 55th Street, Black leaned against a side wall. With effortless command, he presided over guitarist Steve Kuhn, bassist Jake Gordon, and drummer Andy Bautista, casually stepping back to sip a cold beverage between his trumpet solos. The evening unfolded in three one-hour sets, each followed by a brief intermission. After the first set, Black shared that he sometimes picks the setlist to match the “feeling of the room” or to highlight any additional musicians that join them. Tonight’s selection was designed to accommodate the addition of a castanet (a small, handheld, shell-shaped percussion instrument that produces a clicking sound, often used for rhythmic accent).
What began as a jam session in the ‘90s, Black said, is now an established quartet with “really great and dependable musicians.” Between songs, he instructed the band the way an Italian grandmother tells you to add “this much” salt to a recipe, as if by feel. “We go A-sharp, then B-minor in the solo, then back here,” he said, pointing at the sheet, “One, two, ah, ah, ah.” While the directions might sound vague to the audience, they were well-understood by the ensemble and resulted in fluid, layered pieces that highlighted not only Black’s trumpet, but every instrument in the quartet. Black noted, “It’s the informality of the setting, the intimacy of it that I enjoy.”
Note: Woodlawn Tap is cash-only and open only to those 21 and up. Sunday night J=jazz performances are free, and a tip jar is passed during intermissions for those who wish to contribute.
Tea Time Concert Series
Thursdays, 4:30 p.m., Fulton Recital Hall, Goodspeed Hall, 4th floor.
As a science major, I had never spent much time on the music side of campus as I did writing this article. On 59th Street, a plaque in the University’s signature Gothic font directs you: “Through the archway and to the left to Goodspeed Hall.” What isn’t written is that, on the other side of the archway, Goodspeed, one of the four oldest buildings on campus, is buzzing with creative energy. Even before reaching the doors, the sounds emanating from practice rooms invite you in: piano drifting out one window, vocal scales out another. As the golden-hour light of a crisp fall afternoon filter through the courtyard, the whole building seems to exhale as if it were alive, breathing music.
This corner of campus feels like another world where, every Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Music hosts a mix of student and visiting performers. On October 23, the Vocal Studies Program, accompanied by Daniel Schlosberg on piano, featured an array of performances from lieder to arias. One of the highlights was a rendition of “Gimme Gimme” from the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie by mezzo-soprano Katie Keeley, a creative writing and public policy student who delivered the song with an easy stage presence that felt Broadway-ready. In contrast, those drawn to a classical repertoire were transported to the late Romantic period through the voice of tenor graduate student Harry Fosbiner-Elkins as he performed Gabriel Fauré’s “Après un rêve.”
The program closed with soprano Zoe Springsteen, who, adorned in a black glistening masquerade mask, brought the character of Rosalinde from Johann Strauss II’s 1874 operetta Die Fledermaus to life. Her rendition of “Csárdás” was so vivid and ethereal that it felt almost impossible to imagine a more evocative interpretation of the aria’s emotional arc. Indeed, the performances that Thursday have set a gold standard for the Tea Time Concert Series.
Although audiences will have to wait until next quarter for another Tea Time concert featuring the Vocal Studies students, installments ranging from a performance by the South Asian Music Ensemble to a masterclass with Director of Vocal Studies Elisabeth Marshall are still on the program this autumn. Spectators can arrive as early as 4:15 p.m. to enjoy tea, artisanal cookies, and mingling with fellow attendees.
Note: Head over to https://music.uchicago.edu/news-events/events to keep up with upcoming Tea Time performers and other music events.
