By Tracy Adams
The line between jazz singing and cabaret singing is often fine, blurred, and crossed—with frequently spectacular results that delight Chicagoland listeners. Chicago Jazz Magazine is thrilled to partner with Chicago Cabaret Professionals via the monthly column/calendar, “Spotlight on Cabaret.”
Here's a screen shot from Chicago Cabaret Professionals updated website, www.chicagocabaret.org. (photo: Patricia Salinski)
As Chicago continues to reopen, you can feel the performing community begin to tremble with anticipation. When will it be our turn? Restaurants in the street are great and everything, but I haven’t seen one carve out space for live singers. With large outdoor music events falling by the wayside, the prospects are still slim.
What are cabaret folks doing with all the time on their hands? I know from social media that some have jumped into the home baking craze, some have become masters of list-posting challenges (post a picture of your top ten all-time favorite pictures of pets dressed like people, no explanations), and others appear to have developed all-new food stylist skills. Well, the team at Chicago Cabaret Professionals has been busy putting together an all-new website. And to misquote Etta James, the change is gonna do us good.
The look is fresh and modern and alive with real singers doing real singing. Not only is there a calendar with shows currently running (yes, including a passel of online operations), but you can find existing shows that can be booked at your club, fundraising event, or big birthday bash. Remember those CDs I mentioned in last month’s article? Many of them can be gotten right here. Looking for social media connections? Look no further.
I still haven’t gotten all of my closets cleaned out or my garage organized, but CCP has its act, or should I say their acts, together.
Chicago Cabaret Professionals, founded in 1998, is a non-profit alliance of advocates for the art of Cabaret. Cabaret has been at the heartbeat of intimate nightclubs for more than a century, where singers tell a story with music from The Great American Songbook to jazz and blues, from burlesque and Broadway to comedy and satire.
Check out the new site: www.chicagocabaret.org.
Tracy Adams has spent more than four decades on stages of every kind, from intimate cabarets to large auditoriums, hotel restaurants to European cathedrals. For seven years, he was the restaurant writer for Gay Chicago Magazine. He spends his days as a training manager for an accounting firm. All of these endeavors reflect his personal mission in life, which is to help people grow.