The North Shore Weekend, October, 14th, 2023

“Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.”

- H. Jackson Brown, Jr. NO. 573 | A JWC MEDIA PUBLICATION

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 | SUNDAY OCTOBER 15 2023

Kathryn Kish and Kelly Laszl, co-chairs of 2023 Antiques + Modernism show

WOW FACTOR

The Winnetka Community House’s legendary Antiques + Modernism show is back for another year, featuring classical and contemporary furnishings that will make any home interior stand out from the rest. pg6

INSIDE NEWS

Children’s Theatre of Winnetka presents Mary Poppins at the Winnetka Community House pg8

#HASHTAG Michele Frigon, an interior designer from Glencoe, launches the Designerlink online community pg12

MATERIAL PURSUITS From an interior design tome to an Hermes event in Chicago, your weekend's must-haves are here p13

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INDEX

NEWS

DON’T MISS

7 driving to make a

difference

AN EVENING WITH

Cradles to Crayons unveils a new Cruiser to pick up donations on the North Shore 8 supercalifragilis-

ticexpialidocious!

Children’s Theatre of Winnetka presents Mary Poppins next month at the Winnetka Community House

12 #hashtag Meet Glencoe interior designer Michele Frigon, founder of the Designerlink online community

13 material pursuits Interiors to dream about, a Camille Claudel exhibit in Chicago, and an Hermes event you won't want to miss

LAST BUT NOT LIFESTYLE & ARTS LEAST

NEXT FRIDAY

10|20|23

10 life's chorus We talk to Kenilworth native and musician Jeff Harnar about life and his new albums

7:30 PM

14 sunday breakfast Original Lt. Dan Band member Ben Lewis of Glenview also commands respect as his trio's jazz pianist

$20

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NEWS WOW FACTOR

From PG 1

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

One of the Midwest’s premiere style and design shows is back for another year and promises a feast for the eyes for anyone looking to transform their interiors.

Presented by the Winnetka Community House Woman’s Board on Thursday, November 2 through Sunday, November 5, the show will spotlight more than 40 dealers from around the country and two from England. In addition to home furnishings and accessories, the show will feature artwork, clothing, and jewelry.

Now in its 51st year, over the decades the show has become a popular social gathering as well as an important fundraiser for the Community House and its programs. At the Preview Party and show on Thursday, November 2, attendees can sip on specialty cocktails and dine on seasonal fare, all while getting early access to buy items that are for sale.

“The Preview Party is just a fun, spectacular event even if you don’t plan to buy anything,” says Kathryn Kish, who along with fellow Winnetka resident Kelly Laszlo is chairing this year’s event. “It’s a wonderful reason to dress up, shop, and enjoy delicious food and drink. In the past five years we’ve been seeing lot of groups of young women with their friends. It’s a girls’ night out, but couples and men still attend.”

A lot of volunteer hours go into making the Antiques + Modernism show the beloved affair that it is. Kish credits the full 60-member Woman’s Board for its commitment to making the show a success every

This year’s Antiques + Modernism Show will be the Winnetka Community House Woman’s Board’s 51st.

year. They all actively work on sponsorships and putting the Preview Party and show together.

“We’re not a board where you write your check for your dues and go to an event at the end of the year,” she says. “It’s a working board and we’re passionate about the Community House and the fact that we’re providing support for its operating budget.

It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.”

In addition to support for the work of the Woman’s Board, Kish chalks up the show’s success to always having new dealers so there’s something fresh for buyers every year.

She also says that now in its 51st year, the

More than 40 dealers will display their works at this year’s show.

show sells itself.

It’s become social mainstay on the North Shore spanning generations of families.

Many in the community also feel an emotional connection with the Winnetka Community House.

“We want to make sure it’s a fabulous party that drives people to come back year after year,” Kish says. “People in Winnetka and the surrounding North Shore are passionate about the Community House. It has been around so many years and serves such an important part of our day-to-day life.”

Laszlo moved to Winnetka about eight years ago and, with a young daughter, was

drawn to the Community House’s programming for kids. A few years later she joined the Woman’s Board and is thrilled to be co-chairing this year’s show.

“The first year I attended the show I just remember how much hard work went into it as a board and I was in awe of how they pulled it off,” she says. “Kathryn is a great partner to work with and it’s just a really unique event and that’s what has drawn me into it.”

One special feature of this year’s show will be Shop the Show on Saturday morning with nationally known dealer and appraiser J. Michael Flanigan, who appeared on “An-

The Antiques + Modernism show features exquisite jewelry.

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THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

NEWS tiques Roadshow” on PBS from 2012-2015.

Tickets to the Antiques + Modernism show are $15 for the weekend with an advance purchase, $20 at the door. Tickets to the Preview Party are $150 in advance, $175 at the door and include three-day admission to the show.

Laszlo says one of the things she likes best about the show is it showcases a variety of options to the area as far as antiques, jewelry, vintage couture—things if you’re looking for something really distinctive to add a personal touch to your home. It shows a variety of options you can add.

“I love this show because you can find so many unique and interesting pieces.” she says. “I’ve attended the Preview Party for years and I think it’s really spectacular. I hope people attend and take advantage of all the show has to offer.”

The Antiques + Modernism show takes place from November 2 to 5 at Winnetka Community House. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit thewinnetkashow.com.

Contemporary furniture is always a popular attraction at the Antiques + Modernism Show.

DRIVING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE A pilot program on the North Shore offers donors a home pickup service to donate clothes for needy children and immigrants in Chicago.

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Call it amazon.com in reverse. It’s not about receiving; it’s about giving.

A new pilot program launched by the Chicago chapter of Cradles to Crayons, a national organizations whose mission is provide clothing to needy children and families, is designed to make donating clothes to charity easier.

The program utilizes a van—what it calls the Cradles to Crayons Cruiser—to pick up donations of new or gently used clothes and hygiene items at homes throughout the North Shore. Donors can book an THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

appointment online, bag or box up their donations, pick a day for the Cruiser to come by, and not have to worry about finding and driving to a donation bin.

Riverwoods resident Amy Kaplan and her husband, Marty, helped spearhead the effort along with a group of 25 volunteers, aka the Cruiser Committee. They got the blessing of the national organization to launch the pilot to test whether it could be replicated in communities across the country. The idea emerged when the shelves of the organization’s Chicago warehouse, the Giving Factory, where donations are vetted and processed, began to thin.

“I’ve been involved with Cradles to Crayons for seven years and what I like is its pureness of mission. It’s heartbreaking that you have to level the playing field for children to meet their basic needs,” says Amy. “I stay involved because its very grassroots, hands-on volunteerism and as a board member my ideas are valued.”

It's difficult for parents with young kids to load up their donation bags and then drive to a donation site to drop them off, she adds. There’s also bad weather, and people tend to load their bags in the trunks of their cars and then drive for months before getting around to dropping them off.

“The writing was on the wall that we had

to make this easy and efficient, and going door to door and letting people just drop their bags at their doors is the simplest way to solve the problem,” Amy says. “The goal is to maximize product collection.”

Front door collections are just one way the new Cruiser is being used. Through their networks, Amy and her fellow volunteers are also encouraging donors to organize community gatherings where people congregate and bring their donations. The Cruiser swings by and collects all of the bags. It’s a way to gather donations but also build community. Amy hopes the idea will encourage schools, churches, and synagogues to get involved. She’s also forming partnerships with retail outlets so they can donate unsold merchandise.

“We envision using the Cruiser if you want to become a Cruiser Collaborator and that gives more opportunity for wider community engagement,” she says. “A lot of individuals and local businesses have taken advantage of it, and it’s been a huge success. I was amazed by how much clothing local businesses have to give.”

One aspect of Cradles to Crayons that Amy really appreciates is the organization offers volunteer opportunities not just for adults, but for kids, too. She strongly believes in family volunteering, and her

children were involved with Cradles to Crayons at a very young age, putting clothing packages together for needy children.

“We used to take my kids and their friends to volunteer at Giving Factory and they would say it was the favorite day of their lives,” she says. “I always felt good about the fact that families could volunteer and how much it resonated with them. It was very tangible and hands-on and seeing their reaction was so special.”

For the Cruiser project, Amy says what has been most satisfying is watching the community on the North Shore come together to get the Cruiser on the road. Its progress up to now is due to the involvement of all of the volunteers.

“As the tagline on the Cruiser says, we are literally ‘driving to make a difference’ to end clothing insecurity,” she adds. “I cannot stress enough how extraordinary the grass roots activism of our community to make this happen has been, and I am inspired by the community connectivity that has made, and will continue to make, this a success.”

To book a date for a clothing pickup from the Cradles to Crayons Cruiser or make a monetary donation, visit cradlestocrayons.org/ chicago/c2ccruiser/.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 | SUNDAY OCTOBER 15 2023 |

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NEWS

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS! Children’s Theatre of Winnetka will stage six performances of the classic musical, Mary Poppins, from November 16 to 19 at the Winnetka Community House.

Previous productions of Children’s Theater of Winnetka have included Singin' in the Rain, Matilda the Musical, and SpongeBob Squarepants.

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Now into its 50th year, which it will celebrate next May, the Children’s Theatre of Winnetka (CTW ) will see Mary Poppins and her umbrella fly onto the CTW stage in November for a run at the Winnetka Community House.

The popular, Tony Award-winning musical, based on the book by P.L. Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins features an irresistible story, classic songs, dance numbers, and top-notch stagecraft.

The production is directed by CTW’s Artistic Director Aaron Umsted, who has a personal connection with Mary Poppins.

“I was a part of the First National Tour of the Broadway production, and I actually joined the show while they were performing at the Cadillac Palace in downtown Chicago,” Umsted says. “So, I know the musical very well and have a deep connection to it as a fan and as an artist.”

The show has two casts of 45 children

each, so it allows for 90 kids to be on stage.

Umsted says he wanted to be a part of creating a production that would leave a sense of wonder, joy, and inspiration in the hearts of those who experience it.

“The opportunity to be part of a production that could create such a positive impact on this community was a major driving factor for me,” Umsted says. “The audience goes on the journey right along with Mary,

Bert, and the Banks family.”

The cast features 4th through 8th graders from communities and villages that feed into New Trier High School. During the rehearsal process some are being trained on using harnesses to give the appearance they are flying.

Lee Kahn, one of 25 volunteer board members for CTW and whose daughter is in the production, has attended a few re-

8 | SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 | SUNDAY OCTOBER 15 2023

hearsals and says the show will provide quality entertainment. He has a family connection to the production, but he also appreciates being part of the Children’s Theatre community.

“My daughter is one of the actresses.

She’s been in three [CTW ] shows. Just seeing the community of friends she’s built and how well this organization is run is great,” Kahn says. “And the director is an absolute phenomenon. He’s a person that has a gift for making things fun but also holding kids accountable for being good and strong and confident.”

Kahn was involved as a parent for the first shows his daughter performed in and was soon nominated for a role the board.

Though his daughter will be done next year he’ll stay on the board due to the length of his term.

“I’ll still be part of it just because I think it’s that important. It’s a wonderful, wonderful program,” he says.

As for the Mary Poppins production, Kahn says he’s been impressed with the children’s commitment to put on a quality show.

“These kids are working on this three days a week, sometimes four,” he says. “ I can’t speak for 90 kids, but I can speak for my daughter and the other kids in our carpool. They just love it.”

To purchase tickets ($18 each) to any of the performances or to get more information, visit childrenstheatrewinnetka.com or call the Community House at 847-446-0537.

THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

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9

LIFE’S CHORUS NEWS

Kenilworth native and musician Jeff Harnar talks about his latest releases.

BY GREGG SHAPIRO

would have no reason to remember meeting me, but I was duly star-struck meeting him.

Seeing the original productions of (Coleman musicals) City of Angels, The Life, and The Will Rogers Follies were major events for me: I was finally living in New York City and Cy Coleman was there writing new musicals.

THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

For vocalist and Kenilworth-native Jeff Harnar, life truly is a cabaret. Since the late 1980s, Harnar has received multiple accolades for work as a performer, including awards from the Mabel Mercer Foundation, the Chicago Cabaret Professionals, Manhattan Association of Cabaret (MAC), and Broadway Cabaret World, to mention a few. Following a 17-year break from recording, Harnar has released two albums on PS Classics—I Know Things Now: My Life in Sondheim’s Words in 2022, and his latest, A Collective Cy: Jeff Harnar Sings Cy Coleman in 2023. Jeff was gracious enough to make time for an interview shortly after the release of A Collective Cy. Jeff, I’d like to begin by asking you who came up with the witty title for your Cy Coleman celebration act, and subsequent album, A Collective Cy? You are the very first to ask. When I was starting out in cabaret in the 1980s a young man named Sebastian Hobart did a Cy Coleman show with this title.

Sadly, he was a casualty of the AIDs epidemic. All these years later I have assimilated his witty appellation and have awaited an opportunity to shine the spotlight on his memory and give him the credit he deserves.

What’s involved in the process of selecting songs for a cabaret tribute show and album such as A Collective Cy. My director Sara Louise Lazarus, my music director Alex Rybeck, and I have the gift of a long collaboration. Our first project together was 1989’s Carried Away: Jeff Harnar Sings Comden & Green. The process is much the same now as before: we each make a list of songs that might be a good fit for me and then compare notes. As much as I love Cy’s music, I’m always looking at the lyrics first. I need to feel I’m a reliable, believable narrator of the lyrics I sing. This album owes as much to exceptional lyricists Carolyn Leigh, Dorothy Fields, and David Zippel as to Cy Coleman.

In the liner notes, you write about when, as a boy, your parents gave you the original Broadway cast recording of Sweet Charity, a musical about a taxi dancer. It was a pretty racy musical at the time. Nearly 60 years

You grew up in Kenilworth and attended high school at New Trier. Were you active in New Trier’s theater department?

Absolutely! New Trier’s magnificent theater department was pivotal in nurturing my musical dreams and honing my youthful talents. Just last week, Toby Nicholson, one of our directors and choreographers, came to see A Collective Cy at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights. How thrilling to reconnect with him and to have an opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the gift of being one of his students. Also at that performance was Mary Brown, my music teacher at Joseph Sears Grade School in Kenilworth. She was especially supportive of my passion for music at a time when it really mattered. Oh, to see her smiling face in the audience all these years later. Priceless!

later, could you ever imagine a parent giving that album to a child in 2023?

We were living in the Connecticut suburbs of New York City back then and I had a great aunt who was the fashion editor of Seventeen magazine. I have to believe she suggested the album to my parents. The show was new on Broadway at the time and my Aunt Fran would’ve seen it. She was my Auntie Mame.

The following year she gave me Man of La Mancha. That was really a lot for a child to digest!

Despite the subject matter, which is relatively tame by today’s standards, Sweet Charity has great songs, including “Rhythm of Life,” “My Personal Property,” and, of course, “If My Friends Could See Me Now.” Why did you choose to include those three songs?

I had a childhood obsession with “Rhythm of Life.” The fugue-like counterpoint melodies were easy to grasp and a joy to sing. At that age, who knew what those words meant? Revisiting the song now in my 60s is coming full circle back to a youthful place of musical bliss. On the album, I’m thrilled to have jazz singers Nicolas King and Danny Bacher as

special guests on that track. Cy has to be smiling to hear Nicolas scatting and Danny on the soprano sax. “My Personal Property,” from the film version of “Sweet Charity” is a sublime “I love New York” song. I get huge joy singing about the city. It’s such a defining part of my soul. And Alex has cleverly woven in the melody of “My City” from “Seesaw” around the song to truly make the arrangement feel “personal.” “If My Friends Could See Me Now” was a must-have song, one of Cy Coleman’s greatest hits. For our purposes, I’ve used the lyric to express a very intimate feeling of gratitude, which is my overriding feeling about this album happening. As Dorothy Fields penned for Sweet Charity, “All kinds of music is pouring out of me.”

The beautiful “With Every Breath I Take” is from one of Coleman’s later Broadway musicals, City of Angels. In the original production, Gregg Edelman, who grew up in Skokie and is a Northwestern alum, played the role of Stine. Have you ever crossed paths with this fellow North Shore native?

Gregg and I met in passing on one of those benefit nights with a roster of talents. He

10 | SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 | SUNDAY OCTOBER 15 2023

Did you perform in any Cy Coleman musicals in high school?

Alas, no Cy Coleman. The musicals I was fortunate to do at New Trier were Take Me Along, The Boyfriend, Mame, Oklahoma!, and Kismet.

A couple of other North Shore natives, Ann Hampton Callaway, and her sister Liz Callaway, can be heard performing duets with you on the album on the songs “I’ve Got Your Number” and “Our Private World,” respectively. What does it mean to you to have them on the record?

Two highlights of the album were duetting with my New Trier classmates Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway. What a magnificent musical reunion that afternoon in the studio was for me. Ann was “Mame” in our New Trier production—I like to say she was 16 going on 42. Brilliant then, brilliant now. Liz and I co-starred in Kismet. Check out YouTube if you want to see 10 minutes of 1977 Sound Super 8 proof!

Do you think Cy Coleman has received the full recognition that he deserved?

Frankly, no. Part of the blame was his own brilliance. With regards to his Broadway scores, Cy was a musical chameleon, writing jazz for City of Angels, R&B for The Life, and comic operetta for On the Twentieth Century. As such, Cy himself disappears. When you hear Sondheim you pretty much know THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

NEWS you’re hearing Sondheim. Cy was much more difficult to button down because his writing styles were always in service to the shows he was writing. Thus, Cy Coleman never became a household name, though virtually everyone knows his songs such as “Big Spender,” “Hey, Look Me Over!” and “The Best is Yet to Come.”

me is that if your dreams don’t come true at first, they may come true at last. I’m grateful to both of those angels for making the albums possible and to PS Classics for giving both albums such absolutely first-class productions. It helped enormously to have 13-time Grammy nominee Bart Migal on the team as producer and engineer.

After not releasing studio albums for a few years, you have now released two in close proximity: I Know Things Now: My Life in Sondheim’s Words and A Collective Cy: Jeff Harnar Sings Cy Coleman. Does that mean your fans won’t have to wait for the next Jeff Harnar album?

Yes, it was 17 years between albums … and then two in a row! It was a stroke of karmic, cosmic serendipity that these two albums happened in consecutive years. I thank executive producer Ron Thomas for initiating and envisioning the Sondheim album in 2022. That entire experience was a miracle.

And then executive producer Alvin Kabot had truly championed that the Cy Coleman album would finally be recorded. It had almost happened in 2006 but the funds weren’t there. Sadly, Alvin was a casualty of COVID. But he earmarked the money for the album when putting his affairs in order and thus this long-held dream came true. The mantra was right there in the title of a Sweet Charity song … “Baby Dream Your Dream.” The lesson for

In terms of music, you are steeped in the cabaret world. But is there a style of music or a performer that you listen to for your own pleasure that might surprise your fans?

Country? EDM? Doja Cat? Wilco?

Who? Gregg, I’m hopelessly devoted to the songwriters of the Great American Songbook. Of course, the definition of that Songbook keeps expanding. Certainly Judy Collins, Amanda McBroom, Linda Rondstadt, and he Beatles have assimilated into the lexicon.

As for pleasure listening, I’m quite fond of silence. I like to give my brain a rest from the lyrics I’m forever rehearsing and keeping on my lips. But k.d. lang, Patsy Cline, and The Manhattan Transfer can always soothe me.

Also, I’m out most nights discovering new artists or reveling in the greats, so there’s a lot of music around me always. I feel so richly blessed to be in an epicenter of so much talent and creativity. To quote a Carolyn Leigh lyric from one of Cy’s favorite songs, “All I want in this world is some kind of music that my heart can listen to and cheer!”

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11

LIFESTYLE & ARTS #HASHTAG EDITED BY DUSTIN O'REGAN ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL

In 2019, Glencoe interior designer MICHELE FRIGON founded Designerlink, a membership-based design community. What started as a few meetings a year of like-minded designers discussing trends and materials over coffee has grown into a community of more than 50 members who come together monthly for design collectives and social and educational events. The collectives feature 10 to 12 vendors from small boutique lines to national brands. Recent social and education events have focused on the business side of interior design. With the recent relaunch of the website, there is a members-only portal with access to community chats, member “garage sales,” and around town events. To find out more, visit designerlinkcommunity.com.

#ON MY NIGHTSTAND

A large refillable water bottle, a few pairs of colorful reading glasses, and a rotating stack of design magazines that keep me curious, inspired, and forward thinking.

#ON MY MOBILE

My social media is a mix of design, business, fashion, food, and something to make me laugh. I follow a range of designers all around the world but especially love the ones that embrace color, pattern and texture—including Lindroth Design, Peter Dunham, and Katie Ridder to name a few. Also, @Jeannie Andresen, an Interior Design Business Coach, has really impacted both my Designerlink business as well as my own interior design business.

Michele Frigon Design.

#IN MY EARBUDS

Podcasts: Some on business (Brook Castillo and Rachel Rodgers); some on design (Business of Home, Trade Tales by Business of Home, A Well Designed Business); some on wellness (The Art of Well Living by Dr. Will Cole); and some that plain fascinate me, like Ologies by Alie Ward, and David Engleman's Inner Cosmos. I’m also a Swifty.

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THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

LIFESTYLE & ARTS

MATERIAL PURSUITS This weekend’s curated luxury trends

DESIGN TOME

Rizzoli is debuting a new book about in-demand London-based interiors and furniture designer ROSE UNIACKE. The designer beautifully showcases the homes she has designed, boasting clean lines and calm, light-filled spaces, and showrooms defined by an effortless blend of traditional details within contemporary spaces. Whether the project is an urban townhouse, a seaside retreat, or a London villa, Uniacke’s approach is always the same—a collaboration with clients to make understated, refined sanctuaries that offer the perfect settings for everyday life. The book is sumptuously illustrated with 200 color photographs taken by industry masters François Halard and Simon Upton that truly capture the serenity and timelessness of Uniacke’s hand-hewn, cultivated style. The pages exude the same warmth of a Uniacke interior, heightened by the author’s own words as she describes in detail the specifics of each of the 13 projects explored. The result is akin to an informal conversation, with the designer revisiting her journey to share instincts and inspirations. For more information, visit rizzoliusa.com. © Rose Uniacke at Work by Rose Uniacke, Rizzoli, 2023.

ARTISTE

The trailblazing French sculptor CAMILLE CLAUDEL (1864–1943) defied the social expectations of her time to pursue original and powerful explorations of the human form.

Her sculptures depict the universal themes of love, loss, passion, and the intimacy of daily experience, embodying the artist’s uncompromising pursuit of stylistic and professional independence. While she was among the most daring and visionary French artists of the late nineteenth century, Claudel’s work has largely been characterized by her tumultuous life—her relationship with sculptor Auguste Rodin and the disruption of her career as she spent the last 30 years of her life in a psychiatric facility. The Art Institute of Chicago hosts an exhibition of her work, Camille Claudel, from now through February 19.

This is the first comprehensive North American show focused solely on Claudel’s work in 35 years. It will include nearly 60 sculptures that demonstrate the broad range of genres, formats, and materials in which she conceived her work and executed with brilliant technique. For more information, visit artic.edu.

TRÈS CHIC

Hermés hosts HERMÉS IN THE MAKING at Chicago’s Union Station from October 27 through November 1, ahead of the opening of its newly remodeled Chicago location. Guests will enjoy a variety of live demonstrations, workshops, interactive activities, and films for an intimately bespoke experience with one of the most cherished and celebrated brands in fashion. Bringing together craftspeople from many of the house’s métiers, this exclusive event offers a sneak peek into time-honored techniques honed on a quest for unrivaled quality, durability, and innovation. For more information, visit hermes.com.

Thank You! PRESENTING SPONSORS:

Winnetka Community Nursery School Village of Winnetka PLATINUM SPONSORS:

Bambino BMO Bank DV Trading Go Green Winnetka Great Central Brewing Company Grins on Green Bay

The 76th annual Winnetka Children's Fair would like to thank its 2023 sponsors. We could not have done it without you!

S I LVE R S PONSORS:

Grosvenor Capital

GOLD SPONSORS:

LP Group

Charles Schwab

Vince & Noreen Mancini

DiVinci Painters

The Shoreline Group at Morgan Stanley

Jetty Security

North Shore Community Bank Ruffolo Landscaping Shore Capital Partners The North Shore Weekend

Paige Dooley Team at Compass Rubenstein Fox Team at Baird & Warner The Zafirovski Family

Airoom Bashy Bash Hot Shots Sports Jewel Osco Junior League of Evanston – North Shore Key Coalition Keyth Security LaMonica & Sprague Sonia Madden at @properties Malman Law True North Winnetka Fire Fighters Local 2077

@WinnetkaChildrensFair THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 | SUNDAY OCTOBER 15 2023 |

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FALL AND RISE S U N D AY B R E A K FA S T

Seven years after a near-fatal accident at home, North Shore native Ben Lewis continues to soar as a jazz pianist and member of Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band.

BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT

It was around this time seven years ago when Glenview resident and jazz pianist Ben Lewis had just finished cleaning the gutters at home.

But the ladder that helped him start the chore would not help him return to terra firma.

Gravity aided and abetted Lewis’s frightening descent.

“I remember attempting to climb down from the roof but not much after that,” says the 50-year-old Lewis, who suffered serious injuries to his head, ribs, and a clavicle but not to his key assets—his piano hands.

“Good thing a boy in the neighborhood saw me on the ground and told his mother, who called for an ambulance.”

The Winnetka native and 1991 New Trier Township High School spent a month in the hospital as his life hung in the balance.

“The music community supported my family and me after my fall,” says the forever-grateful Lewis, who resumed his music career in 2017, including performances as an original member of Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band.

Bank on Lewis to raise the roof during a concert at Studio5 in Evanston on December 1. The Ben Lewis Trio—also featuring Larry Kohut (bass) and Jon Dietemyer (drums)—and guest vocalist Paul Marinaro will perform music by Bill Evans, a legendary jazz pianist and composer who died in 1980 at age 51.

Evans recorded critically acclaimed albums with Tony Bennett in 1975 and 1976.

“It’ll be a tribute to Bill Evans,” Lewis says.

“He had such an influence on me. I first heard of him when I was at Indiana University, majoring in jazz studies. His sounds, along with his simplicity, were impactful, beautiful. Bill stayed true to jazz in the 1970s, at a time when others in jazz were turning electronic.

“It was tragic, Bill dying so young,” he adds.

“He was experimenting as a musician, trying a more aggressive approach, weeks before his death. But it was still Bill, still great.”

Studio5 is an intimate performing arts center that also boasts excellent sight lines and comfortable seating. Co-founders Steve Rashid, an Emmy Award-winning composer, and Bea Rashid, a dance educator, choreographer, and theater director, opened the welcoming space in 2016—expanding Dance Center Evanston to include Studio5 as a performance arts venue presenting professional dance and music events among other forms of entertainment.

The Ben Lewis Trio tribute to Evans will incorporate stories, visuals, and memorable music, notably Evans’s mesmerizing, oh-so-gentle “Peace Piece,” from the 1958 album Everybody Digs Bill Evans, and “Waltz for Debby,” a solo piano piece on his 1956 album, New Jazz Conceptions.

“The intention of the concert is not for me to sound like Bill Evans, or for Paul to sound like Tony Bennett,” Lewis says. “Instead, it’s to create something that’s our own, and something that will make the audience members feel full.

“Music,” he adds, “is intended to fill your soul.”

Howard Reich, the former classical music reviewer for the Chicago Tribune, described Lewis’ pianism as “shimmering.”

What also struck Reich was Lewis’ “go-for-broke energy.”

A son of Robert and Sherri Lewis, Ben was a seventh-grader when he took his first piano lesson from the late Alan Swain in Evanston. He later enrolled in a Jazz Band class at NTHS. “I wasn’t a prodigy in high school,” says Lewis, whose fraternal twin is Matt, a vocalist, trumpeter, and guitarist now living in Colorado (Sarah is their sister). “I thought there was a chance I’d get better as a jazz pianist.

Attending jazz summer camps, like the Jamey Aebersold workshop, then opened my eyes to the possibilities in the field of music.

“I was fortunate and blessed to have grown up with parents who encouraged their kids to develop their creativity. My mom is a gifted composer, with great musical instincts. She and my father wanted us to pursue whatever brought us joy.”

Soon after graduating from Indiana University with a bachelor of music degree in 1995, Lewis participated in jam sessions and met musicians in Chicago. He reconnected with Grazyna Auguscik, a Polish jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger, in the city about a year after Lewis had introduced himself to her.

“She had kept my card, the one I handed to her when I was a senior at Indiana,” Lewis recalls.

“Grazyna gave me my first opportunity

Ben Lewis

The intention of the concert is not for me to sound like Bill Evans, or for Paul to sound like Tony Bennett.

Instead, it’s to create something that’s our own, and something that will make the audience members feel full. Music is intended to fill your soul.

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to work with someone on an album (Auguscik’s Don’t Let Me Go, in 1996).

“More than 20 years later, we’re still good friends.”

Lewis knew Kimo Williams before Williams and Sinise, a Highland Park native and an Academy Award-nominated actor, formed the Lt. Dan Band in 2003. Lewis jammed with Williams—between bites of pizza and sips of beer at the latter’s house—and then found himself performing for the band at its debut concert on Diego Garcia, an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Each December at Disney World in Orlando, the band and the Gary Sinise Foundation host a Snowball Express for the surviving spouses/guardians and children of fallen military heroes.

“Gary is extremely generous with his time and committed to such a wonderful mission through his foundation,” says Lewis, who served as a jazz ambassador for the U.S. State Department. “His life goal is twofold—to show appreciation for those who serve in the military and to show compassion for family members who lost their loved ones in military conflicts.

“I’ve seen kids laugh during our concerts, and I’ve seen kids cry at them. Nothing makes us happier than being able to at least provide an entertaining escape for them. It’s a tremendous honor to perform for them.”

Lewis has been married for 14 years to Joliet native Abigail Derby Lewis, who is the senior conservation ecologist at the Field Museum’s Keller Science Action Center. They have three children—Isaac, 12; River, 10; and Jove, 3.

“What do I do in my free time?” the father says with a faint smile. “I cook and do laundry.

I like to make vegetarian lasagna and banana bread. Banana bread works well as a gift, too.

“Seriously,” he continues, “I’m lucky that I’m able to make a living as a musician. I was lucky as a child, getting the opportunities I got in Winnetka and at its schools. Then, mainly through music, I received opportunities to see the world. I saw the beauty of diversity.

“I want my children to be surrounded by diversity.”

Studio5 is located at 1934 Dempster Street in Evanston. For ticket information about the Ben Trio concert on December 1, 8-9:30 p.m., and for more information about Studio5, visit studio5. dance or call 847-328-6683. For more information about Ben Lewis, visit benpiano.com.

THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

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9 Bedrooms | 7 Full and 2 Half Baths | Price Upon Request Incredible estate situated on 3.25 manicured acres in a parklike setting complete with pool, pool house, tennis court, play yard and gardens. This home features unparalleled woodwork, intricate moldings, and hand scraped floors, and an exquisite Tiffany skylight. This is a one-of-a-kind offering, where memories are made. Come for a visit and stay for a lifetime. The property includes a subdividable acre parcel.

DINNY DWYER

847.217. 5146

Dinny.Dwyer@cbexchange.com Coldwell Banker Realty | 45 Green Bay Road | Glencoe, IL 60022 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2023 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logo are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 | SUNDAY OCTOBER 15 2023 |

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THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND