Name: The Madcats Blues Jam ft. Brother John Kattke, Tom Holland, and Al Shorter, hosted by Dave Levit
Start: 2026-01-25T18:00:00-06:00
End: 2026-01-25T22:30:00-06:00
Location: Madcats

The Madcats Blues Jam ft. Brother John Kattke, Tom Holland, and Al Shorter, hosted by Dave Levit

The Madcats family is ecstatic to bring you this January 2026 edition of the Last Sunday of the Month Blues Jam. We are again delivering a fantastic lineup with this version of David Levit's Million Dollar Blues Band
House Band: 6:30-7:30 pm
Jammers: 7:45-10:15 pm
House Band: 10:25-10:45 pm
Backline supplied. Bring your axe, sticks, and best Blues tunes to jam with your combo!
Our featured musician this month is the amazing Brother John Kattke. Brother John has been a resident musician at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago for over 30 years. He actually toured with Buddy Guy, as a member of Buddy's band, to support the Grammy award winning album and tour of the same name, "Damn Right I've Got the Blues." Through his work with Chicago Blues greats Buddy Guy and Otis Rush, he has jammed with Eric Clapton, Steve Miller, auditioned for the Black Crowes (in 1998, but they hired Jimmy Page instead), and acquired ringing endorsements from many other renown musicians. For example: Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant had seen John play with Otis Rush at the Jazz Café in London. When Plant and Kattke met in person at the United Center in Chicago, Plant told Kattke, “You play a mean guitar!” George Benson came to the jam session that Kattke hosts at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago. After hearing the opening set that John played with his band, Benson told him, “You’re fearless! I thought I was fearless! You’re fearless!” Rolling Stone France (RS102-Chicago):
"In terms of the condition of full-time musicians in Chicago, “Brother” John Kattke is a privileged witness. For more than a quarter of a century he has scoured the clubs of the city, taking turns on guitar or keyboards when he’s not directing studio horn arrangements or playing keyboards on some albums such as the latest Toronzo Cannon release, “The Chicago Way.” Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Matt Murphy, Junior Wells - he accompanied them all at a time or another."
We are also thrilled to have our very own Tom Holland, AKA, "The Red Baron" back with us. Tom is well known for fronting his own band, Tom Holland and The Shuffle Kings. Years on the road with Blues legends such as John Primer (Muddy Waters last guitar player), Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, and most recently, James Cotton, have made Tom Holland one of the highest in demand Blues artists on the scene today.
Tom played on both of James Cotton’s Grammy Nominated releases, Giant, and Cotton Mouth Man, both on Alligator Records. In 2013 Tom took the band back into the studio, recording No Fluff, Just the Stuff, on his own E Natchel Records imprint, which garnered rave reviews. Tom was also inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2013. With over 24 years of stage experience under his belt, Tom Holland is, without a doubt one of the finest purveyors of classic Chicago Blues guitar styles. More recently he headlined with The Chicago Wind at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland, Greece and other parts of Europe.
Al Shorter comes from a bass playing lineage that is deep in the pocket of the Blues. He describes his styles and influences in the description of his 2009 Solo CD release.
SMOOTH GROOVING JAZZ BEST DESCRIBES MY STYLE BASS GUITARIST - AL SHORTER
He is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter. But considers himself primarily a bassist. Growing up in the Chicago Bronzeville area, he started playing at the age of 6. Influenced by his dad who played the piano and guitar, he started playing the guitar, bongos, drums and my love, the bass. He started his first band at the age of 12 with some neighborhood buddies. Their first song was Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. He has worked with independent producer Willie Keys and accompanied Al Rowe, Jodie Christian, and Gary Davis on bass. He has also played with various bands including B.O.S. and Planet Band.
As his professional career as a bassist has evolved, he has been strongly influenced by the jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Stanley Clark, Alphonso Johnson, Bunny Brunel, Jaco Postorius, Marcus Miller and The Yellow Jackets, just to name a few. While pursuing music, his priorities included his spiritual life. In his own words "The love of music helped me realize my talent is a direct reflection of the God who gave it to me. And for that I praise him daily. Alongside me is my beautiful, loving, spiritual wife, Elaine. We have a married daughter Shanda and 2 absolutely beautiful grandchildren. While keeping all things in perspective, I consider what most may call tribulations in the flesh, as a blessing from God".
Drummer Dave Levit is seen with artists throughout the area including The Glenn Davis Band, and occasionally with Al Spears's Hurricane Project, BB & The Honey, The Zach Avery Band, The Windy City Rev Ups, The New Colony Six, Fifty-One Lincoln, Roger That!, Caesar Salad, Vintage Vinyl, The Danny Baron Band, The Chicago Blues Super Session, and more.
Some of the past artists you may have seen him with are: Sammy Fender, Ivy Ford, JB Ritchie, Darren Jay and the Delta Souls, Allister Perea, and The Mustangs. He is also an instructor offering lessons to select students as well. Some exciting new projects are always in the works. You will certainly hear about them as they break out.
Tom Holland - Guitar & Vocals
Brother John Kattke - Guitar, & Vocals
Al Shorter - Bass & Vocals
Hosted by:
David Levit - Drums, Promo, Off-Handed Comments, Life Changing Announcements, Spiffy Fedoras.
This is another dynamite formation of David Levit's Million Dollar Blues Band! This remains the best Blues Jam you could ever dream of. Come and join the Madcats crew and let's welcome the Million Dollar Blues Band to the stage!
Keep your eyes on these events as we have a lineup of special guests in the coming months that will make your head spin. Want to know more? Ask Dave at the Jam!