Skokie resident and Berklee College of Music student Zach Sorkin said he doesn’t just play jazz music for the money — he does it to hang out with friends, to meet new people and for his love of the craft.
For the third summer in a row, Sorkin will play jazz music at Fountain Square every Sunday. Along with the rest of the Senya Rogers-Kaufman Quartet, the drummer will play tunes from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. through the end of July.
“A couple of years ago, we were looking for places to play and couldn’t really get any gigs because we weren’t very good,” Sorkin said. “We decided to come out here and play, and people really liked it.”
The summer after Sorkin graduated from Niles North High School, he and 7th Ward resident Senya Rogers-Kaufman were hoping to start playing jazz music for an audience.
After a couple of successful performances around town, nonprofit organization Downtown Evanston brought the musicians back the following summer, paying them in gift cards. Now, Sorkin said the group is receiving “real money” for their performances.
“It’s nice spending money,” Sorkin said. “A gig’s a gig, and the fact that they’re paying us makes it feel more real.”
Rogers-Kaufman, the quartet’s guitarist who graduated from Evanston Township High School this year, said he’s enjoyed seeing community attendance increase as the weather gets warmer.
Rogers-Kaufman said while playing each weekend allows him to “make a little dough,” what’s more important is getting to practice his craft, which has been passed down through his family.
“My grandfather’s a trumpet player, so it’s always been a part of my life,” Rogers-Kaufman said. “My parents love music, and jazz is just what we do.”
Fifth Ward resident Michael Africa, who watched the jazz performance June 1, said he’s glad Evanston puts resources into community events like live music. He said the city’s diversity and arts scene are what drew him to move to Evanston 10 years ago.
Listening to jazz music can often come at a price — such as music club entry fees — and Africa said he is happy Evanston is providing opportunities to engage with the craft for free.
“I think it’s super valuable for the community,” Africa said. “Not only is it good for the local economy, but it’s the best way to spend a Sunday.”
Each week, the quartet plans to feature guest appearances from members of the ETHS Jazz Band and musicians from The Butcher Boy School of Music on Washington Street.
The quartet has eight more performances scheduled this summer. Sorkin said he has been pleasantly surprised by the turnout every week, and the community response has been “nothing but positive.”
“I never expected that we would have all these tables filled with people sitting and watching our whole set,” Sorkin said. “It’s really cool, and it shows how the arts are appreciated in Evanston.”
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