Jazz Scene Goes South
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Now Wicker Park’s loss is about to become the South Loop’s gain: A few weeks ago Marguerite Horberg, who struggled to keep HotHouse afloat for seven years, leased a new, 7,000-square-foot space at 700 S. Wabash; if all goes well the club will reopen in October. And last weekend, following a brief, unsuccessful relocation to Andersonville, the Bop Shop opened its doors at 1146 S. Wabash, next to the Roosevelt Hotel; proprietor Kate Smith says she has a 15-year lease. Consider them with Buddy Guy’s Legends at 754 S. Wabash, the Cotton Club at 1710 S. Michigan, and even Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge down at 21281/2 S. Indiana and you’ve got the beginnings of one of the city’s most exciting and substantive entertainment strips.
Horberg also hopes the new site will be friendlier to the city’s various ethnic populations as well and aims to expand HotHouse’s multicultural offerings, which in the past have included international jazz (Peter Brštzmann, Abdullah Ibrahim), a variety of top-flight ethnic music artists (Baaba Maal, Lazaro Ros), poetry readings (mostly Guild Complex events), and various community forums.
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