Joel Paterson & Friends @ Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, Chicago, IL, USA, 03/03/2025

Joel Paterson & Friends at the legendary Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. A Monday night, but they planned to play three full sets of music — from 8 PM to around midnight. Cover? Just ten bucks at the door, cash only. People kept arriving throughout the show, which was great to see — especially the solid turnout of young folks!

Joel was joined on stage by Ben Paterson on the Hammond B-3 organ, Natalie Scharf on saxophone and clarinet, and Mike Schick on drums. The setlist focused heavily on classic jazz and swing standards.

Early in the first set, they played Till There Was You, a song I really liked, best known from The Beatles' version, and Duke Ellington's The Jeep Is Jumpin'. Joel's guitar work was top-notch, and his namesake, Ben Paterson, laid down some seriously soulful grooves on the organ — at times, it almost felt like Jimmy Smith himself was up there on stage! The horns were a delight, too.

Midway through, Joel switched to steel guitar, delivering a gorgeous Hawaiian piece and a smooth Western swing tune, Panhandle Rag. The first hour-long set wrapped up with the energetic Go Power, known from Arnett Cobb and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis — what a blast!

The second set kept the magic going. They kicked off with Gene Ammons' The One Before This, supposedly picked up by the band during the break. The steel guitar made another appearance for a Hawaiian tune, along with Horace Silver's The Preacher and the legendary Sleep Walk. They closed with a laid-back blues — After Hours.

Didn't manage to stay for the third set, but the first two were fantastic. And finally getting to visit Green Mill? Absolutely worth it.

( Few more pix... )