Looking Back: Arkota was venue for big bands. SFA. The Arkota Ballroom opened on Nov. 11, ... but there were plenty of wicker chairs for the comfort of the patrons placed along the side wall.

CapRadio's Avery Jeffry is your host for an hour of big band holiday classics featuring Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Diana Krall, the USAF Airmen of Note and many more.

This outdoor concert is part of a series presented by the University of Chicago’s Arts + Public Life organization as part of a summer tribute to big bands.

Jimmy Maxwell, 85, a jazz trumpeter who was a mainstay of many of the leading groups in the big-band era, died July 20 at his home in Great Neck, N.Y.