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On Tuesday night the JIC presents an odd but intriguing benefit concert at the UIC Forum. Led by saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley, both veterans of the Famous Flames, it’s an homage to their old boss called The Soul of Jazz: The African Tribute to James Brown. I’m not sure how much sense the “African” part makes–Malian singer-guitarist Vieux Farka Toure and Senegalese singer-percussionist Cheikh Lo are both participating, but I can’t hear much of a connection between their music and Brown’s. That’s not to say I don’t welcome their presence–though Toure has played in town frequently in the past year or so (and will be back for Chicago’s upcoming World Music Festival), a visit from Lo is a rare treat.
Chicago trumpeter Corey Wilkes and his band Black Slang, abetted here by three dancers, will open the concert. Through Monday, tickets are available at a ten-dollar discount if you use the code word “soul” at ticketmaster.com.
