"Don't Miss" Gil Scott-Heron...For Free!

How often can you hear a groundbreaking and maybe even earth-shattering performer in a small venue...for free? Anyone interested in soul, politics, or how music evolved into hip-hop has an opportunity to hear one of the original voices when Gil Scott-Heron performs at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at Columbia College Chicago's Stage Two.

The 60-year-old Scott-Heron is an author, poet and musician -- and throughout his career he has tied poetry to music, often with a heavy dose of politics and cultural commentary. Supported by everything from minimalist drums to a full band and jazz combos, Scott-Heron was a "soul talker" who made what many consider to be the first inroads toward hip-hop (just as many consider Bob Dylan and "Subterranian Homesick Blues" an early foray into rap). Two early LPs -- Pieces of Man and Winter in America -- arguably form part of the bedrock of African-American music today. Writing and performing in the late 1960s and early 1970s Scott-Heron was viewed as a black militant, and his music demonstrated restrained activism. He is best known for his recording, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," originally released on a 1970 LP titled Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, where he was accompanied only by congas and bongo drums. A later recording with a full band was released as a B-side recording and included on Pieces of Man.

In 1979 Scott-Heron participated in the No Nukes concerts in New York City and he can be heard on the CD and LP lamenting how "We Almost Lost Detroit."

Don't be surprised at what you'll hear at the performance because it will likely range from his pure poetry, to his early anti-consumer rants, to his militant pieces and his more recent jazz poetry. And with a little luck you'll hear "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," as pure a piece of 60s protest music as there was.

The Columbia College Chicago Stage Two is at 618 S. Michigan Ave. on the second floor. For more info visit www.colum.edu or call the Columbia College African-American Cultural Affairs Department at 312-369-7569.