Street Music: Let them play!

Chicago is a city known for its music, Jazz, Blues, the Lyric Opera and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. And, every now and then, if you're visiting Chicago or commuting to work you get a little taste of that musical tradition. I can recall a xylophone player on the corner Randolph and Michigan Avenues that you could hear on the 11th floor balcony of the Prudential Center building, a block away -the perfect serenade for the end of a hard week in a cubicle typing out numbers. There was also a great band of retirees who played nearby. These guys could play everything from Glenn Miller to Kenny Loggins! (Just name a song, and they'll play it!). And, of course there are the Bucket Boys who spice any Chicago evening up with their loud, but lively, drumming.

A talented string duet in Mexico City

I had long thought that Chicago was the home of street music, but after a short trip to Mexico City, I learned Chicago may be falling behind in that category. Mexico City has amazing musicians everywhere you could look! It wasn't simply one busy corner, or one busy subway stop, it was all up-and-down every street! 

When you think of Mexico, you might think of Mariachi or Mexican Folk Music, and there was a lot of that; but, the breadth of musical talent in Mexico was astounding. I heard American Jazz, ragtime Jazz, Baroque Classical and John Philip Sousa marches in one walk down Calle Fancisco Madero. Of course, I stopped to watch, and gave the performers some Pesos for their effort, but no one seemed to care about the money. They did it for the love of music, and the love of performing. It made my trip so much more wonderful! 

One of the coolest things Mexico City had was amateur marching bands; groups of young adults who came in to town on the weekends and made little parades. In the morning they were tuning their instruments, and marching. In the afternoon, they were hanging out by the food vendors, chilling and socializing with their band-mates. Sounds like a fun time to me!   

But that said, Chicago, even with it's beautiful musical tradition, kind of disappointed me after I got back from Mexico. We do have awesome music clubs, The Green Mill, Kingston Mines, Buddy Guy's and the whole House scene to name a few. However, it's rare on the normal workday to hear such good music on the street while you're walking to work. Of course, I've mentioned that we do have some great outdoor street musicians, but the cacophony of tunes in Chicago pales in comparison to those of Mexico, and other countries around the world. Chicagoans: We've got a lot of catching up to do!

 

Hinech Yafa, "Light in Babylon", Street Performance in Istanbul. Youtube Video, Five Minutes and Ten Seconds.