Reader’s Choice Velvet Lounge

My favorite places to hear jazz these days are actually the Hungry Brain and the Hideout, but those venues present jazz only once a week. For venues strictly devoted to the music, none can match the Velvet Lounge, the free-jazz temple owned by tenor legend Fred Anderson. Although national acts stop in on occasion, most of the programming is local and edgy, with just about every facet of the city’s most progressive musical community represented—particularly AACM-related groups. 67 E. Cermak, 312-791-9050,velvetlounge.net. —Peter Margasak

Readers’ Choice Green Mill

4802 N. Broadway, 773-878-5552, greenmilljazz.com.

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