Jazz weekend

I'm bushed this morning from a jazz weekend in Chicago, starting Friday night with Joe Segal's birthday party concert, where Yusef Lateef and Von Freeman did a butt-kicking call-and-response improvisational duet that makes me want to find out what they're drinking and get some of it (both are in their 80s). Saturday early, Greek saxophonist Dimitri Vassilakis at the HotHouse, a very nice venue I hadn't been to before. This guy really is good, check him out if you like your sax playing recognizable but still with plenty of free-leaning improvisation. Saturday late, Ira Sullivan at the Jazz Showcase. He's one of the revelations of the weekend for me and played alto sax, very much Charlie Parker style, trumpet, flute and probably some instruments I missed, all well. The other revelation was Chicago-based bassist Larry Gray, who backed all three performances. He's a name I'll be looking for in the future when I'm checking out the lineup on disks in considering whether to buy them. Oh, my buddy Carl Abernathy and I worked in a visit to the wonderous Jazz Record Mart Saturday afternoon, too. No wonder I'm tired.