The Sound of a Metropolis
Stroll into The Inexperienced Mill on a Friday night time, and there’s a superb probability you’ll hear the sleek, lyrical tone of Bobby Acri’s saxophone. His sound is each acquainted and new — rooted in Chicago’s jazz legacy, but alive together with his personal inventive edge.
“I grew up surrounded by music,” Acri says. “My dad performed piano, my mother sang within the choir, and Duke Ellington was simply a part of the family soundtrack.”
At this time, Acri is considered one of Chicago’s most revered younger jazz musicians — a performer, bandleader, and trainer carrying ahead the town’s lengthy custom of improvisation and expression. His journey started in Winnetka, Illinois, the place jazz was much less a alternative and extra a calling.
Early Notes and the Name of Jazz
Acri picked up his first saxophone at age 9. By highschool, he was already recognized for his dedication — staying after jazz ensemble rehearsals to experiment with chord modifications and phrasing. “I wasn’t simply attempting to play the suitable notes,” he recollects. “I wished to know why the music moved folks.”
That curiosity led him to DePaul College’s College of Music, the place he studied efficiency and composition. There, he discovered not simply the speculation, however the rhythm of the town itself. Between courses, he would carry out in small Chicago golf equipment, sharing the stage with seasoned musicians who helped form his evolving voice.
“They taught me that jazz isn’t about perfection,” Acri says. “It’s about dialog — listening, responding, and constructing one thing sincere in actual time.”
Discovering His Voice within the Chicago Scene
After commencement, Acri started main his personal quartet — a serious step in an business constructed on collaboration. His performances at Chicago staples like The Inexperienced Mill, Andy’s Jazz Membership, and Winter’s Jazz Membership earned him a loyal following.
His debut album, North of Blue, put his sound on file: a mixture of traditional bebop power and trendy storytelling. Critics praised its heat and melodic depth. However for Acri, the undertaking was deeply private.
“North of Blue got here out of lengthy nights on the North Shore,” he explains. “It’s about the place I’m from — the folks, the lake, the quiet moments that discover their means into your taking part in.”
Every observe displays that connection. Listeners can hear the calm of Lake Michigan mornings and the heartbeat of the town streets. It’s Chicago in sound kind — equal components grit and charm.
Main By Educating and Mentorship
Off stage, Acri has constructed one other type of stage — the classroom. He teaches personal classes to highschool and faculty college students, and infrequently leads workshops on improvisation and ensemble efficiency.
“I see educating as an extension of performing,” he says. “Each are about listening. You may’t educate with out being attentive to who’s in entrance of you — their sound, their story, their targets.”
Acri’s method to training is sensible. He focuses much less on idea for its personal sake and extra on serving to college students discover their voice. His classes usually begin with a query: What do you wish to say together with your music?
“I inform them, you don’t need to sound like Coltrane or Rollins,” he provides. “You simply need to sound such as you.”
It’s a mindset that mirrors his personal evolution — rooted in custom, however unafraid to push ahead.
The Stability Between Artwork and Life
Regardless of his rising recognition, Bobby Acri stays grounded in his Winnetka roots. He lives there together with his associate Emily, an artwork curator, and their rescue canine, Miles. When he’s not performing, he’s possible crate-digging for uncommon jazz vinyl or kayaking on Lake Michigan.
“I feel stability issues,” he says. “Jazz teaches you that — the push and pull, the house between the notes. Life works the identical means.”
These pauses, he believes, are the place creativity refuels. Whether or not sketching new melodies at a espresso store or listening to a Kamasi Washington file, Acri finds inspiration in on a regular basis rhythm.
Carrying Ahead the Chicago Jazz Legacy
Chicago has at all times been a metropolis that breathes jazz — from South Facet basement periods to downtown golf equipment. For Acri, being a part of that custom comes with accountability.
“Chicago jazz isn’t simply historical past,” he says. “It’s a residing language. Each gig, each solo, provides to that story.”
His influences — Coltrane, Rollins, Redman — information him, however he’s fast to emphasise the significance of the native scene. “The older gamers I got here up with taught me greater than any textbook might,” he notes. “They confirmed me what it means to play with goal.”
That goal now drives his profession: connecting folks via sound. Whether or not main his quartet or mentoring the subsequent technology, Acri sees jazz as a software for unity.
“Nice jazz,” he says, “is about communication — not competitors. It’s about creating moments the place everybody within the room feels a part of one thing larger.”
The Way forward for a Timeless Sound
As Acri continues to carry out, file, and educate, his imaginative and prescient stays clear — to maintain jazz vibrant, accessible, and actual. “Music doesn’t should be difficult to be significant,” he says. “It simply must be sincere.”
That honesty — the emotional transparency behind each notice — is what units Bobby Acri aside. From his childhood in Winnetka to the late nights on Chicago levels, his story is considered one of regular progress, quiet management, and deep respect for the artwork kind.
In a world the place developments shift quick, Acri stands for one thing lasting: connection via sound. And so long as the saxophone retains singing, Chicago’s jazz spirit — and Bobby Acri’s — will preserve swinging proper together with it.
