Howard Reich has been writing about the arts at the Chicago Tribune since 1983. After nearly 30 years’ worth of columns, he’s brought together some of his favorites in the new book Let Freedom Swing: Collected Writings on Jazz, Blues, and Gospel. Reich recently spoke to WBEZ’s Richard Steele about the collection. He started by talking about one of the key threads running through Chicago’s Jazz scene—tenor sax man Von Freeman.

Music Button: Lena Horn, “Forever Was A Day”, from the CD We’ll Be Together Again, (Blue Note)