Latin Jazz Show at Lake Forest’s Gorton Center kicks off new year of partnership with Rendezvous Arts

Can listening to a musical performance conjure a color, a shape, or a scene in your mind?

Co-founder of Rendezvous Arts, Deb Stevenson, says finding an association between visual art and music has been at the center of their mission from the very beginning.

Rendezvous Arts: Latin Jazz at the Gorton Center on Friday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. kicked off a new year of partnership between Rendezvous Arts and the Gorton Center.

Rendezvous Arts: Latin Jazz — Featuring James Sanders & Conjunto offered sizzling Latin Jazz by James Sanders & Conjunto, Caribbean rhythms presented alongside the vibrant-hued and light-filled paintings of Anna Lentz, at the Gorton Center on the evening of Jan. 16. (Gina Grillo/ for the Pioneer Press)

Sizzling Latin Jazz by James Sanders & Conjunto, Caribbean rhythms presented alongside the vibrant-hued and light-filled paintings of Anna Lentz, offered a welcome winter diversion.

Sanders’s violin weaves his classical roots into the pulse of jazz improvisation. Conjunto’s lineup: Kevin O’Connell on piano, Jean-Christophe Leroy on drums and timbales, Joe Rendon on congas, José Porcayo on bass, and Steve Eisen on reeds. Together they create a sound that moves between hushed intimacy to explosive joy in a collision of Afro-roots, salsa, and jazz, according to the Gorton Center website.

“Lentz’s canvases burst with bold, saturated color, vibrate with geometric shapes and energy, making it the perfect pairing with Conjunto’s music,” Stevenson said.

Rendezvous Arts was founded six years ago by members of the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra, created as a means to connect the work of Chicago-based chamber musicians with local visual artists.

Stevenson says she and the Rendezvous Arts board work to find relationships between musical genres and visual art.

“We only hire Chicagoland area professional musicians and artists, our city and suburbs are packed with talent – and those are the artists we want to introduce to our audiences,” Stevenson said.

Lentz said she often listens to music while painting, and in preparation for this show, she had Latin Jazz in mind.

“I found myself creating these abstract paintings that are colorful, spontaneous, and have their own visual rhythm,” Lentz said.

Musician James Sanders said the art adds a unique vibe to the venue, casting a spell on the listeners.

The Rendezvous Arts and Gorton Center partnership showcases six programs each year, each concert highlighting a chamber music performance paired with the work of a local visual artist.

These events become a multidimensional concert and exhibition experience, inviting the audience to participate in a dialogue between the two art forms.

According to Stevenson, each of these programs is repeated three times, presented in Lake Forest, and then at two other venues, one in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood and the other in Dixon, Illinois.

Ann Wildman, Gorton Center director of events, said the center conducted a survey a few years ago, and one of their clearest takeaways was that their patrons value interactive experiences.

“Thanks to Rendezvous Arts with their exceptional musicianship and the addition of visual arts, we can provide a rich, fully immersive experience of the arts to more people in our area,” Wildman said.

“Painted Pottery” (Courtesy of artist Anna Lentz)

Bridget Hutchen of Lake Forest attended.

“I love the intimacy of the performance, seeing the artwork all around, it adds to the holistic quality of the experience,” Hutchen said.

Rick Friedman of Cary also attended on Jan. 16.

“Experiencing this music with the backdrop of the artwork puts me in mind of a tropical beach, breeze off the water, an adult beverage in my hand,” Friedman said.

Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/gorton-center-latin-jazz-rendezvous-arts/