SALUTE TO JOE SEGAL
WHEREAS, Joe Segal, an outstanding citizen and impresario of one of this city's most iconic music venues, has provided a platform for a pantheon of the finest and most extraordinary jazz musicians of this city, the nation and the world; and
WHEREAS, Joe Segal showed an early affinity for music, often attending big band performances at the Earl Theater in his native Philadelphia. While stationed at Chanute Air Force base in Champaign, Illinois during his military service, he would use his leave time to travel to be a part of the remarkable jazz music scene Chicago had to offer; and
WHEREAS, After his discharge from the service, Segal took advantage of the GI Bill and moved to Chicago to attend Roosevelt University. The multi-racial exposure he had there led to his meeting jazz star greats Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis; and
WHEREAS, Joe Segal joined the Roosevelt University jazz club where, from 1947 to 1957, he produced his Jazz Showcase. It was there he presented such remarkable musicians as Charlie Parker and Lester Young; and
WHEREAS, Segal first opened his Jazz Showcase Club in 1970 on Rush Street in this city's night club district. He moved the venue to the Blackstone Hotel in 1982. In June of 2008, Jazz Showcase settled at its current location at Dearborn Station on South Plymouth Court; and
WHEREAS, Joe Segal has been recognized on numerous occasions for his noteworthy achievements. He was awarded the 2015 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship and was named 2010 Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association. In 2013, Segal received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Roosevelt University; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Robert W. Fioretti, Alderman of the 2nd Ward, has introduced an ordinance to name a portion of South Plymouth Court that borders the Jazz Showcase Club as "Honorary Joe Segal Way"; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED That we, the Mayor and members of the City of Chicago City Council, gathered together on this ...
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