Late-night rehearsals weren’t the only thing bringing life to the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts after dark on October 20. From October through June, The Hunt (formerly Café Logan) hosts jazz performances every third Tuesday of the month. For the season’s first Third Tuesday Jazz event, the café’s usual arrangement of widely spaced tables was replaced by rows of chairs, creating a mini venue feeling. By 7:15 p.m., these seats, reaching from the main front room to the end of the café counter, were filled. A separate makeshift bar was serving drinks for jazz enthusiasts who had gathered to hear Trio Nexus play at 7:30 p.m. that evening. The band’s bass, piano, and drums were set up right in front of the windows facing 60th Street. Just like any band performing as part of the Third Tuesday Jazz series, all the musicians had close ties to the Chicago area.
Trio Nexus, featuring Reggie Thomas on piano, Dennis Carroll on bass, and George Fludas on drums, opened the evening with a tribute to Ray Brown, an American jazz double bassist. The first notes of their “Sister Sadie” rendition established a sense of the bluesy, celebratory mood that would dominate this night’s performance. As the café shutters rolled up and latecomers gathered near the entrance, the performance moved to quieter, more contemplative tunes.
The audience readily applauded the many solo highlights of the band’s performance, which ranged from Carroll’s tenderly plucked passages on the bass to Fludas’s rhythmically driving drum showcases. Following an extended piano piece, Thomas explained the idea behind Trio Nexus: a group built on equal interplay, in which no single musician or instrument takes center stage. For much of the performance, the trio relied on more melodic arrangements. It was a reflective Tuesday evening. Beneath the warm lights of the hanging lamps, Thomas’s anecdotes about the trio’s original compositions added to the cozy atmosphere.
Returning to the stage after the break, Trio Nexus continued with slow and groovy originals. When Thomas announced an “old school” tune, many audience members joined in, singing along to “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” as they swayed in their seats. The event also offered opportunities for socializing around the music, whether during the break, when audience members could mingle with the musicians, or between songs.
Event host Mashaune Hardy, Associate Director of Partnerships & Strategy at the Logan Center, spoke to the Maroon about the Third Tuesday Jazz’s background and ambitions. As a partnership between the Logan Center, the Hyde Park Jazz Society and 90.9FM WDCB Jazz Radio, the series aims to engage the local community. “It is our responsibility to welcome you here regularly and have you use this space,” Hardy told the audience at the last concert.
The series serves Hyde Park residents and students by providing a stage for bands and solo artists with Chicago ties. Hardy emphasized that the series is in its lucky 13th year and, like all jazz programming at the Logan Center, remains very popular. When asked about how quickly the crowd grew on October 20, she concluded that “yesterday still seemed fairly timid. I’ve had performances where guests could only stand.” Approximately 110 people had made their way to the newly remodeled café.
Admission to Third Tuesday Jazz is free, though donations to the Logan Center are encouraged at the entrance. When asked about the project’s future, Hardy highlighted the importance of “giving a little now, to avoid paying a lot later.” She remains confident about its future due to its past success with Hyde Park audiences. Still, financial sustainability is an important concern, as one might expect from a cultural endeavor in 2026. “In these times… people are giving less,” she remarked, before stressing that keeping the event free is a top priority for the organizers of Third Tuesday Jazz. She also touched upon how the event is beneficial for The Hunt, which is run and curated by jazz singer Lizz Wright and Monica Haslip, founder of Little Black Pearl, a nonprofit art and design center.
The café’s warm and relaxed atmosphere provided a fitting backdrop for Third Tuesday Jazz, allowing you to hum along and chat with bubbly Chicago jazz listeners. Their next event is scheduled for November 17, presenting Chicago-based musician Thaddeus Tukes, a date worth marking for a Tuesday of tunes!
