Ratchet: Pushing Jazz Forward

Well, the feature that I've been toiling over for the past month went up on Gapers Block: Transmission last week. The piece explores the highs and lows of a free jazz series called Ratchet. Every Monday at the Skylark in Pilsen this group presents froward thinking creative music.

The article was funded in part by a Community News Matters grant from The Chicago Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Features supported by the grant are to be "locally oriented and primarily about underserved neighborhoods and issues that affect them." I never would have thought to take on this project without Gapers having been awarded that grant last year. It gave me the inspiration to dig deeper in myself and in the community and really dive into a subject matter that I was familiar with and thought should be shared.

I've already gotten tons of really great feedback. I'm really proud of the piece itself, but I'm also really glad that I was able to put a spotlight on the work this group is doing.

So what are you waiting for? Go read it!