Joe Segal (April 24, 1926 – August 10, 2020) founded the Jazz Showcase in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois and was the club's owner until his death in 2020. Born April 24, 1926 in Philadelphia, he grew up listening to
Louis Armstrong,
Sidney Bechet and
Fats Waller on the radio. When he was old enough, he would visit the Earl Theater to watch them perform. The Air Force drafted Segal in 1944 and he was stationed in Champaign, Illinois for a while. When he had leave, he rode the train to Chicago to attend live jazz performances at clubs on Randolph Street. Following his military discharge, Segal moved to Chicago, enrolled in Roosevelt College on the
G.I. Bill and worked at different jazz venues around the city. In 1947, he worked with his classmates, Gus Savage, who was chairman of the Social Activities Committee for Roosevelt, and Bennett Johnson to organize a weekly jam session. They presented jazz greats such Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins and many others. For the next ten years he organized live jazz sessions on the school's campus featuring musicians he met working at various local jazz venues. Beginning in 1957, Segal ran his showcase shows in what he later estimated was 63 different locations over the years. By the 1970s, Segal opened a formal club called the Jazz Showcase on Rush Street. He gave performers a five evening run with a Sunday show to encourage young people to attend. In 2013, Segal received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Roosevelt University. In 2015, Segal was chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts as an
NEA Jazz Master for jazz advocacy; he was the second club owner/presenter so chosen. == Notable Performers ==