Chuck Webb + Guru Tonic

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

TIME: 1:30-2:30PM

Venue: Oriental Institute. 1155 East 58th St.

GURU TONIC

Guru Tonic is a quartet of virtuoso musicians from Chicago who have toured and recorded with a who’s-who of music legends including Aretha Franklin, Ramsey Lewis, Layla Hathaway, David Sanborn, funk pioneer Steve Arrington, jazz-fusion guitar great Al DiMeola, Lionel Hampton, blues legend Buddy Guy, Von Freeman, Wycliffe Gordon, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Freddie Hubbard, and Grover Washington, Jr.

Chuck Webb is a first-call bassist who has toured the world many times and performed on hundreds of records, commercial jingles, and soundtracks. He studied at the Chicago Conservatory College and holds a degree in music merchandising from the University of Miami. In addition to being a skilled audio engineer, he has also served as the contemporary ensemble program coordinator, a bass instructor, and ensemble teacher in the music department of Columbia College in Chicago. He is a member of the National Federation of Musicians and the National Educators Association.

Tom Vaitsas started playing in Chicago in 1992 while he was a student at NIU. Although school was a great experience, nothing he learned there compared to the knowledge and inspiration he received on Chicago's South Side music scene, where he often got to be around and learn from legendary saxophonist Von Freeman. Between 2000-2008, Vaitsas toured Europe with blues legends Lurie and Carrie Bell, while continuing to play in Chicago between trips. He continues to perform with various groups both in and out of Chicago.

Tim Fitzgerald is a Chicago-based guitarist and bandleader who has performed in clinics and festivals around the world. He has written columns for DownBeat and Chicago Jazz Magazine, and is the author of the book 625 Alive: The Wes Montgomery BBC Performance Transcribed, which has been hailed by Just Jazz Guitar magazine as “the ultimate study of Wes Montgomery’s music.”

Linard Stroud, Jr. began playing drums at the age of three, alongside his father at Chicago’s legendary Lakefront Drum Circle. Since then, he has performed and recorded with such notable artists as Lionel Hampton, CeCe Winans, Jennifer Holliday, Rickey Dillard, Buddy Guy, Syl Johnson, and Steve Arrington.

In Guru Tonic, these super-sidemen have come together to create an exciting blend of original music and cover songs that combine the language of jazz improvisation with funk, soul, and fusion grooves. The group’s debut recording, Guru Tonic, is available on all platforms.

The musicians:

Chuck Webb – acoustic and electric bass

Ton Vaitsas – piano and keyboards

Tim Fitzgerald – guitar

Linard Stroud – drums and percussion