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For me the one name always criminally absent from the list is Michael Orlove of the Department of Cultural Affairs, an approachable guy without a lick of music-biz cynicism or attitude. Not only does he maintain the World Music Festival, the ever-popular SummerDance program, and book the year-long array of cutting edge local, national, and international acts that perform at the Cultural Center, but he routinely facilitates all sorts of public and private music events that happen each year. The weak line-up at this year’s Flamenco Festival demonstrates what can happen when he’s not involved in planning major international music events. He helped establish the jazz series at Gallery 37’s Storefront Theater and he’s behind the solid jazz and international music series now happening during the summer in Millennium Park. He’s also one of the most proactive municipal forces in helping other venues get top quality talent, including Metro, Empty Bottle, HotHouse, Martyrs, Old Town School of Folk Music, Symphony Center. All kinds of events and organizations have turned to him for advice in navigating the city bureaucracy, including the Pitchfork Music Festival.
