Michael Raynor Quartet plays at Christo's Pizzeria in Salem
- Greg Goebel on piano
- Jack Radsliff on guitar
- Patrick Golichnik on bass.
Michael Raynor has been immersed in the Chicago jazz scene since moving there in 1988. After hearing tenor saxophone icon Von Freeman on the radio late one night, he found his way down to Von's weekly gig at the New Apartment Lounge on Chicago's south side and sat in with the band. Three days later Von asked him to the studio to record "Walkin' Tuff" (Southport Records), and Raynor has been his regular drummer ever since. A later recording with Von, "The Improviser" (Premonition Records), was included in Downbeat Magazine's "Best CDs of 2002." His association with Von lead to numerous gigs with other Chicago greats including Eddie Johnson, John Young, Jodie Christian, Johnny Frigo, Bobby Broom, Charles Earland, Ryan Cohan, and Fareed Haque. Over the course of his career, he has also worked with a host of New York and Internationally based musicians such as Johnny Griffin, Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Ira Sullivan, Steve Coleman, Jon Faddis, Eric Alexander, Bob Sheppard, Rick Margitza, and Arturo Sandoval. Raynor began working with vocalist Kurt Elling in 1996 with a weekly engagement at Chicago's Green Mill Lounge, and over the next four years the group toured extensively throughout North America, Europe, Scandinavia, and Australia. He can be heard on three of Elling's recordings for the Blue Note label, including "Live In Chicago," which features, among others, vocalese master Jon Hendricks.
