“Chicago was the center of jazz development during the late 1920s, when it was especially a Toddlin’ town. Although the center of jazz development moved to New York when Eliot Ness cleaned up the place and the IRS sent Al Capone on a well-earned federal vacation, Chicago continued through the decades to have a lively jazz and, of course, a justly famed blues scene. Our job will be to sample some of that lively scene by visiting several of the best downtown jazz clubs. Unfortunately, since jazz clubs generally do not book far in advance, we won’t be able to tell you exactly who and what we’ll hear until closer to the time of our trip. We plan to go to “Green Dolphin Street” (named after a street in New Orleans significant in jazz history and a great jazz standard) and “The Jazz Showcase” the two top Chicago jazz venues on Friday and Saturday night. These clubs regularly book the best local and national jazz talent so you can be sure we’ll hear some high quality music. We may also have a chance to drop in on another club, “Joe ’s Be-Bop,” the “Green Mill,” or “Andy’s” on Thursday night after our dinner together. We can “debrief” about the performances at breakfast each morning and I hope have some lively discussions about the music and musicians. This being a Carleton trip, I’ll be sending along some reading and listening suggestions prior to our trip. The Alumni Office has told me, however, that an exam would not be appropriate.”