SIDEBAR Supper Club w/ SOUL MESSAGE BAND

FITZGERALDS SIDEBAR PRESENTS SOUL MESSAGE BAND FREE SHOW! Reserve your table now via the Book Now link. Walk-ins are always welcome, so if no reservation is available, simply arrive and join us. Chris Foreman carries on the musical legacy of soulful bluesy jazz organ legends who once served as his inspiration. Born blind, he began playing piano at five and received formal training at seven. As a teenager, he was drawn to the organ sounds of Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes, Jimmy Smith, and Jimmy McGriff, which led him to pursue jazz on the organ through intensive study of recordings. Unlike many African-American musicians whose musical foundation begins in church, Chris did not start as a church organist until nearly twenty years oldwell after his jazz roots were established. He has developed an exciting blend of blues-gospel and jazz with a stunning command and range on the instrument. His professional experience includes work with Hank Crawford, Albert Collins, Bernard Purdie, The Mighty Blue Kings, and Deep Blue Organ Trio. Drummer Greg Rockingham began playing at three years old and made his professional debut at five in his fathers jazz ensemble. An alumnus of the Interlochen Arts Academy and Northeastern University, he has won numerous awards from the Notre Dame Jazz Festival. Greg has performed or recorded with a wide range of notable artists including the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Guy Lombardo, vocalists Freddie Cole, Patty Page, and Jerry Vale, and instrumentalists Nat Adderley, Kenny Burrell, Charles Earland, Irene Reid, Ellis Marsalis, Nancy Wilson, and Deep Blue Organ Trio. Lee Rothenberg was born in Philadelphia and began playing guitar at 14 after eight years studying classical piano. His obsession with jazz started at 16 after spending a summer at Interlochen Arts Camp where he devoted many hours listening to Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane in the library. He moved to Evanston, IL in 2000 to attend Northwestern University where he studied with jazz pianist Mike Kocour. Since his arrival in 2005, guitarist Lee Rothenberg has become an in-demand sideman in the Chicago Jazz Scene. Noted for a style deeply rooted in the Jazz Guitar Tradition, his playing exhibits sacred elements of melody, swing, and creativity. Lee has performed as both leader and sideman at venues such as The Green Mill, Andys, the Jazz Showcase, Pete Millers, and the Jazz Estate with a venerable list of Chicago artists including Chris Foreman, Dennis Carroll, Greg Rockingham, George Fludas, Greg Ward, Dan Trudell, and Bobby Broom. He is currently working on a quartet record with legendary multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan that includes Dennis Carroll on bass and George Fludas on drums. Stay tuned! Lee Rothenberg is a confident, groovin player who pulls his own weight alongside Chris Foreman.