I spent New Year's Eve 2014 in much the same way I spent most of the year: photographing great music. During Evanston's First Night celebration, I hopped from one downtown cathedral to another, in and out of the cold, to catch some killer jazz ensembles, as well as slam poet extraordinaire Marc Smith doing his thing. Here are some of my favorite shots from the evening, the last pictures I took in 2014, and some of the first of 2015.
Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan
Steve Gibons (violin) with Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan
John Bany (bass), Alfonso Ponticelli, Alex Udvary (cimbalom)
Howard Levy and Chevere
Joe Rendon (percussion), Ernie Denov (guitar) with Chevere
Howard Levy and Alejo Poveda
Ruben Alvarez
Ernie Denov
Steve Eisen (sax), Mark Ohlsen (trumpet)
Chevere de Chicago
The Slam Papi, Marc Smith (so what).
Marc Smith
Regina Carter
Regina Carter
Regina Carter and Southern Comfort
Fire Jamming
Fire Jamming