Venerable jazz guitarist George Freeman celebrates 95 years with a new compilation

Legendary Chicago jazz guitarist George Freeman has been honing his dynamic, explosive style since the 1940s, working with dozens of the genre’s hall of famers, including Charlie Parker, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Gene Ammons, Jimmy McGriff, Buddy Rich, Shirley Scott, and his brothers Von and Bruz Freeman. On Sunday, April 10, Freeman turns 95, and to mark the occasion, local label Southport Records will drop Everybody Say Yeah!, a set of favorites and rarities from its archives. The tracks span 26 years, and the 19 ace backing players involved include drummer Hamid Drake, harmonica player Billy Branch, and two of the guitarist’s relatives: Von and his saxophonist son, Chico Freeman. Eleven of the 14 cuts are Freeman originals, and among the standouts is a new version of his ballad “Perfume”—a highlight when Gossip Wolf saw him at the Green Mill in 2019.

In February, Reader contributor Steve Krakow reviewed Here Comes the Sunset, the new album by everything-but-the-kitchen-sink prog-rock weirdos Cheer-Accident, in the process anointing them “one of the greatest, most challenging, and most fun bands that Chicago has ever produced.” On Friday, April 15, Cheer-Accident celebrate with a streamed performance from the basement where they rehearse, hosted on the Bandcamp page of Skin Graft Records. Tickets to “attend” are $10, and the label promises a professional shoot with multiple cameras, plus some “pre-recorded surprises.” The band are notorious for their oddball onstage high jinks, so this wolf is eager to tune in!

^{Here Comes the Sunset is the 24th studio album by Cheer-Accident.}

Last time Gossip Wolf checked in with Strawberry Jacuzzi guitarist Shannon Candy, she was about to drop her solo debut in November 2020. The irreverent bubblegum dance-punk on that album, So Long, hooked Italian label Aua Records: it just issued two of the LP’s tracks, “Well Actually” and “Gimme Liberty,” on a seven-inch for its Lo-Fi Mono Single Club!

^{These two songs from Shannon Candy’s debut solo album appear on the new Aua Records seven-inch.}

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