In this episode of Around Town with Mike Jeffers, he talks with Claire Jefferys, wife of acclaimed New York musician Garland Jeffreys, about her powerful new documentary, “Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between.” Co-directed with filmmaker Evan M. Johnson, the documentary explores the extraordinary life of Garland Jeffreys—an artist who broke boundaries as a biracial rock & roll trailblazer, poet, and activist. From the streets of Brooklyn to international stages, Garland’s story unfolds through archival footage, rare performances, and insightful interviews. Claire shares the behind-the-scenes journey of making the film and offers a firsthand look into the interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Harvey Keitel, Laurie Anderson, and many more. These tributes from friends and collaborators paint a vivid picture of Garland’s influence on music and culture over the last several decades.  Don’t miss the exclusive screening of the documentary on June 28, 2025, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. The event will include a Q&A with the filmmakers and special appearances by Jon Langford and Nicholas Tremulis, both of whom have personal connections to Garland’s work and legacy. Get tickets and information here: http://bit.ly/3G4Y6wd

Kurt Elling celebrates Weather Report, Legacy - Live at Ravinia on the Mike Jeffers Podcast

Episode 085 Mike talks with Geoff Bradfield and playing with his group Tenor Time at the Green Mill and Juli Wood honoring others jazz musicians at Andy's Jazz Club.

Episode 084 Around Town with Mike Jeffers and Jake Shapiro, Ritchie Goods and Chien Chien Lu. Jake discusses his upcoming gig at the Kenilworth Assembly Hall and Ritchie and Chien Chien discuss the challenges of touring.

Episode 083 Mike Jeffers interviews Anne and Mark Burnell about their upcoming Halloween gig at Rhapsody and Clark Sommers tells us about his Release Party of "Feast Ephemera" at the Green Mill.

Around Town with Mike Jeffers Episode 082 with Eric Jacobson and Brett Dean.

Episode 081 Steve Sedergreen talks iwht Mike about his upcoming gigs with Pat Mallinger and Ty Cooper, how Chicago compares to Melbourne and playing at a young age with his dad and other great musicians. He will be here October 20 for a house concert and October 21st at Pianoforte.

Episode 077 of Around Town with Mike Jeffers features an interview with Christian Dillingham previewing his upcoming performance at the Chicago Jazz Festival Sunday September 3 at the Von Freeman stage (north promenade) 1:50-2:45pm.

Episode 074 of Around Town with Mike Jeffers features an interview with pianist Theodis Rodgers Jr. previewing his upcoming performance at the 2023 Chicago Jazz Festival.

On Episode 080 of Around Town with Mike Jeffers pianist, composer and entrepreneur Greg Spero about his upcoming performance Thursday and Friday, September 28th and 29th at the Frank Lloyd Wright Unity Temple in Oak Park. Greg also discusses his concepts on composing, arranging and performing as well as his new tech startup and much more!

EPISODE 079 of Around Town with Mike Jeffers features an interview saxophonist Jim Snidero about his upcoming performances at the Jazz Showcase on September 26th & 27th and clinics with the UIC Music Department. Jim also talks about recording his latest release Far Far Away featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel!

Episode 078 of Around Town with Mike Jeffers features an interview with the President and CEO of the Arcada Theatre and Des Plaines Theatre, Ron Onesti, previewing the upcoming performance at the Arcada Theatre   Satchmo Louis Armstrong the Musical on September 10th at 3pm. The performances is in conjunction with the St Charles Jazz Fest Weekend which happens September 7-10, 2023 in downtown St Charles.  

Episode 076 of Around Town with Mike Jeffers features an interview with Jim Holman previewing his upcoming performance at the Labor Day Jazz Festival Monday September 4 at the Jazz Showcase 4-9pm.

Greg Duncan back in Chicago performing at Epiphany for the Arts on July 20, 2023.

Bear's story is a fascinating one – starting in Chicago, where he first started playing bass guitar, then moving to Los Angeles, where he collaborated and recorded with some of the most illustrious names in the global music scene.

Mike Jeffers and Juan Pastor talk about the Upcoming Chicago Jazz Festival. Juan Pastor is on the Pritzker Pavilion Friday September 1 at 4:15pm.

Around Town with Mike Jeffers talking to Javier Red’s about his new release, Imagery Converter, Life & Umbrella.

Episode 073 of Around Town with Mike Jeffers features an interview with bassist Eric Hochberg previewing his upcoming performance at the 2023 Chicago Jazz Festival on Friday September 1, 2023 at 11:30am at the Von Freeman Pavilion with his group "Eric Hochberg's StringThing" featuring Mark Feldman, Larry Gray, Steve Million and Michael Raynor.

Saxophonist Chico Freeman sits down with Chicago Jazz Magazine founder, Mike Jeffers, for the October 2019 feature interview. Chico talks about growing up in a legendary Chicago musical family, the Freeman family. The son of Von Freeman, he shares stories about starting to play sax, attending Northwestern University, his decision to make music his career, moving to New York, performing with Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner and many others.

Chicago blues legend Jimmy Burns talks about his background, his love of blues and how he rose to prominence on the Chicago Blues Scene!   visit www.bluesinchicago.com and www.chicagojazz.com for more interviews and information.   #chicagoblues #bluesmusic #chicagojazz #jazzmusic