The Jazz Showcase The Jazz Showcase The Jazz Showcase is the oldest jazz club in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1947 by NEA Jazz Master Joe Segal, who still owns and operates the venue. Thousands of people have had their first live jazz experience at one of Segal's showcases. They have served as a launch pad for individual careers, and have brought some of the biggest names in the music to Chicago. Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie is said to have celebrated his birthday performing there for many years. Many famous musicians play at the Showcase, including: Eddie Harris (jazz saxophonist) Having changed location numerous times
Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968 is a renowned jazz musician; a type of music that is famous for its improvisational aspect. In a way this was how Mingus lived his life in that he seemed to take each day at a time. The clips of footage taken of Mingus playing with other musicians at the jazz club made it apparent how much he felt the music. The musicians were each individually talented but jazz is about the interaction and responses that occurs between them, and Mingus and the guys playing with him had that essential component. Jazz musicians of the 1950s such as Dizzy Gillespie,