While visiting his parents in Madison, Chicago-based bassist Jakob Heinemenn encountered a box full of strange tchotchkes on the street. The most curious offering was a songbook called New and Original Favorite Songs of Famous Hill Billies: Songs of Heart and Home, Romance, Pathos, and Comedy—a compendium of country and faux-traditional songs written by radio musicians and songwriters at the turn of the 1930s.

The titles were alternately nostalgic, mournful, and goofy (i.e. “Rock Me to Sleep in the Rockies”); the plaintive melodies often consisted of just a simple repeating phrase or two. The music reminded Heinemann, somehow, of his friends and collaborators Chet Zenor (guitar) and Andy Danstrom (drums).

Subsequently, Alta Vista was formed—an experimental instrumental trio eager to tear down the dividing lines between American musical idioms. On their debut self-titled album—comprised almost entirely of Songs of Heart and Home selections—they import earnest inspiration and inventive modern gestures into these lost compositions.

Every Tuesday & Wednesday, we present Chicago’s top jazz artists in a lively atmosphere, full of cocktail-shaking and spirited conversation.

6pm doors / 9pm show / 2 sets / no cover