James Pankow may be known as a founding member and resident trombone player\/arranger\/songwriter in Chicago, but for a gaggle of grandkids living on the West Coast, he\u2019s Papa. It\u2019s a respite he recently enjoyed before bouncing back into his aforementioned musical role as Chicago returns for their 58th year as a unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Averaging between 80 to 100 shows a year, this Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 10-piece are out supporting the recently released Chicago at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. (9\/16\/71)<\/em>, a 4-LP\/3-CD set encompassing that historic gig. And while that show occurred 54 years ago, it still resonates for Pankow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were one of the first artists to perform there,\u201d Pankow recalled. \u201cThis was in July 1971 and the Kennedy Center had just opened a few weeks prior to our performance. It was a brand-new venue and they were looking at inaugurating the venue with acts that were meaningful and exciting. We were invited to perform and we did. And of course, being that it was a historic appearance, we recorded the performance. It was also the first time we performed \u2018Saturday in the Park\u2019 live. It hadn\u2019t even been recorded yet and we hadn\u2019t even decided who was going to sing it. Peter Cetera is singing the lead for this performance. It wasn\u2019t until we went into the studio to complete the recording of Chicago V<\/em>, which included \u2018Saturday in the Park,\u2019 did Robert [Lamm] end up singing the lead vocal on his song \u2018Saturday in the Park.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Kennedy Center set contains a number of well-known early-career standards, including \u201cColour My World,\u201d \u201c25 or 6 to 4\u201d and \u201cMake Me Smile,\u201d the set also includes ambitious compositions that reflect the distinctly proggy-flavored inflections Chicago built into some of their material before the 1980s saw the band shift toward pop ballads (such as \u201cHard To Say I\u2019m Sorry,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re the Inspiration,\u201d \u201cHard Habit to Break\u201d and \u201cLook Away\u201d) that produced a second round of chart success. For instance, the Kennedy Center set includes \u201cA Hit By Var\u00e8se,\u201d an intricately arranged sub-five-minute tribute to the French composer, while the \u201c1st Movement\u201d through the \u20185th Movement\u201d uses a classical framework to showcase the band\u2019s R&B, funk and rock roots, while throwing in flute and guitar solos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This unique sound was created by a group of friends who met in the late 1960s at the Windy City\u2019s DePaul University. Despite starting out as a covers-only nightclub act (\u201cClub owners didn\u2019t want to hear our stuff\u2014they wanted to hear Top 40,\u201d Pankow said), Chicago moved on to playing all originals. And after relocating to Los Angeles in 1968, they became the house band at the famed Whisky a Go Go, despite being unsigned. As fate would have it, Jimi Hendrix caught them during an off night and was immediately impressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJimi Hendrix was in L.A. to do a gig as part of his tour and he stopped in at the Whisky on a night off where he heard us and was blown away,\u201d Pankow said. \u201cHendrix knew what we were doing\u2014he got it. He said we had a horn section that sounded like one set of lungs and a guitar player that\u2019s better than him. He invited us to go on the road, which ended up being a whole summer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience as his opening act. And that was without a record. We had not recorded anything yet. We were unknown artists and virtually nobodies. We went back to the Whisky and labels and people started taking note. Word got out that we had opened for Hendrix. Record companies started bidding and we wound up signing a deal with Columbia and the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nearly six-decade run that followed enabled Chicago to build quite the deep canon. And while that\u2019s allowed a lot of flexibility to put together tours\u2014like last year\u2019s co-headlining pairing with Earth, Wind & Fire (the sixth installment for the two groups, according to Pankow)\u2014this year\u2019s tour will be an evening with Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis year, people will get to hear songs that they didn\u2019t get a chance to hear because we\u2019re going to be on stage for the whole evening,\u201d Pankow said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be doing some things from every album, which isn\u2019t something we always get a chance to do. It\u2019s going to be a lot more in-depth snapshot about what Chicago is all about musically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pankow may be 77, but the enthusiasm and joy he derives from playing live (along with an exhaustive workout routine meant to prime him for the rigors of the road) keep him going. And when you ask him about Chicago\u2019s longevity, the St. Louis native isn\u2019t quite sure himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis music has crossed generations,\u201d Pankow said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re writing a song, you\u2019re experiencing a moment, idea or a feeling that is very personal. The next thing you know, this is a mantra for millions of people. That\u2019s a powerful transition and as a songwriter, you\u2019re even more amazed that fans have embraced this stuff because this personal idea has become a timeless experience for millions of people. It\u2019s the music that has enabled this longevity. When you look into an audience, you see three or four generations. They\u2019re all experiencing this music on their own level differently than each generation before or after them. But the common thread in this music is one that all of them can relate to. And that is a mystery that I\u2019ll never figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chicago plays at 7:30pm Sept 6-7 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Tickets: $113+. mountainwinery.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chicago is touring in support of a 3-CD set of its Kennedy Center gig in \u201971: \u2018We were one of the first artists to perform there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20183858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[34],"tags":[2703,4572],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n