This year’s round up of the best in classical music and jazz from the Chicago Tribune features two mentions of Michael Allemana, Director of the UChicago Jazz Ensemble.
Allemana is included in the all-star listing for this year’s “Most Valuable Band,” among four other impressive jazz musicians – pianist Julius Tucker, bassist Christian Dillingham, drummer Kyle Swan, and percussionist Reto Weber – for their headlining performances with Chico Freeman at Jazz Showcase this past October.
Also mentioned is Allemana’s September Hyde Park Jazz Festival lecture on Chicago artist Von Freeman. In the lecture, Allemana discussed his personal experiences working with Von, important historical material from Von’s lifetime, and the musical and social questions that Von’s views on life and art and his music provoke. Earlier this year, Allemana released an album titled Vonology, “a five-movement composition as fulsome and idiosyncratic as its namesake” (Chicago Tribune). Read more about Allemana’s connections to the great Chicago jazz artist Von Freeman in the Chicago Tribune’s story on his album Vonology.
Discover all of the Chicago Tribune’s top moments in classical and jazz in 2022 on their website.