Ruth Vale Trio
Piano, upright bass, brushed drums
After six
Down twelve steps.
Stay until the last chorus.
The Blue Hour Cellar
Chicago / Winter season
BlueHour
1958
Four cold nights.
A room full of warm brass.
The Bell Quartet
Tenor saxophone after dark
Eddie North Five
Hard bop with a crooked grin
June Mercer
Voice and guitar, almost a whisper
First set 8:30. Last set 11:00.
One room. No bad seats.
A season in four shades. Ruth opens with spare, unhurried piano phrases. The Bell Quartet gives the tenor room to stretch. Eddie’s quintet brings tight unison lines and bright corners; June closes the season with a voice quiet enough to hear the ice settle in a glass.
An imagined club, musicians and winter program. A typographic tribute to the jazz cellar, not an archival event record.