The ‘Good Witch’ Weaves Her Wonders!
Artist Linda Platt creates quilt capturing moments from the Velvet Lounge
"Sketches from the Velvet Lounge," by Linda Platt
Secretly, on a table less than two feet in width,
a woman conceived more than 100 times.
These births began in her imagination, gestated through her eyes and ears, and were then delivered by her right hand, which held a writing instrument, onto a sketchbook. Her hand would then breathe life into these drawings by nursing these creations into the world, as she watched them mature fully onto the page.
John, the woman’s husband since the Nixon Administration, watched silently by himself while these creations were born. These births happened from the mid-80s until 2010, when Linda Platt, the mother/artist, would draw musicians creating their own in-the-moment art at Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge, first at its South Indiana Avenue location, and concluding at its second and final stop on Cermak.
An artist, author, and belly dance instructor, Platt has 15 sketchbooks containing drawings, mostly from the Velvet, that feature, among others, trumpeter Malachi Thompson, saxophonist Ed Wilkerson Jr., and Malachi Favors, playing his bass, with a painting of Billie Holiday presiding in the background for support.
Since 1974, Platt has displayed her art in Chicago, New Orleans, Europe, Griffith, Indiana, and many other places. She has won awards from the Boulevard Arts Center and Country Needlecraft magazine. Beyond having taught belly dance classes at the University of Chicago and Farragut High School, Platt has published Balanced On the Edge, an illustrated novel, along with essays in Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, The Needlework Times, and Expressions From Englewood, among other publications.
In January 2025, Platt decided to revisit her drawings from the Velvet and give them new life. Ten months later, she had completed a quilt, measuring 53 x 47, and named it “Sketches from the Velvet Lounge.” This 28-panel production contains her drawings of Billy Brimfield, Tatsu Aoki’s MIYUMI Project, Jim Baker, Leroy Jenkins, Tomeka Reid, Anderson, and other hep cats.
At the Velvet, Platt hid her productivity from other patrons due to insufficient confidence in her work. “But the more I looked at them,” she said, during a recent conversation at her home, “I thought, ‘Well, that’s how I draw, ya know?’ That’s the way it goes!”
But when Platt began compiling her creations, she experienced some major mishaps.
“I started to process them through the computer, and when I was printing them out on fabric, the computer broke. I then had to get a new cartridge and try that,” she recalled. This process also involved purchasing a new printer, but it proved to be rather insubordinate. Difficulties occurred, Platt explained, because she had printed out her creations on fabric.
“It’s not like paper, which stands up straight,” she said. “The fabric has to be attached to a sheet of paper first before you can put it through a printer. If it’s too thick, it won’t go through. It’s really tricky.”
When discussing the musicians displayed on her quilt, Platt expressed total joy when retelling a joke Brimfield told her. This story, by the way, is included on the quilt. Here goes:
“Two girls walking down the street come up to a frog that says, ‘Hey, girls, kiss me, and I turn into a jazz musician.’ One girl picks him up and puts him into her pocket. The other one says, ‘Hey! Ain’t you gonna kiss that frog?’ The first girl says, ‘Hell no! A talking frog’s worth a lot more money than a jazz musician!’ ”
As Platt studied Brimfield’s drawings during the compilation process, she noted that his jacket appeared to be too light. “He was wearing a black suit,” she said, “so I just made it darker.
“Billy Brimfield was fun,” she continued, when reminiscing about the late trumpeter. “At first, he looked so…I shouldn’t say crabby, but like he didn’t want to converse too much. But once he got going, he was really nice.”
When drawing Anderson, Platt made sure to highlight the Velvet’s two iconic characteristics. “I wanted to make sure I got the wallpaper and chandelier,” she said, referring to the multi-colored, avant/psychedelic wallpaper and the multi-pronged spidery-looking thing that hung over center stage, silent but all knowing. After checking out this drawing and the entire quilt sent to him via email, Andy Pierce, Anderson’s Dependable Dude for All Things Velvet, stated:
“This lovingly made art quilt is a pantheon of niches featuring many of the greats who played (at the Velvet), who sought their muses,” Pierce said. “Fred and his Velvet have been depicted in a lot of different pieces of art. This quilt rises to the top of the latter-day encapsulations of what happened there.”
Four Strings of (Forced) Separation
During a conversation with violinist Leroy Jenkins at the Velvet, Platt discovered something they unknowingly had in common.
“We realized that we lived 10 blocks from each other when we were children,” she said. “His family came to Chicago to work in the stockyards, and so did mine. We never met each other, though, because there was a line (of segregation) drawn in the city.”
Our conversation then segued to Ameen Muhammad, another artist sketched by Platt. She showed Coco Kingdom, a children’s book written by the trumpeter, who played in Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble (NHE). The book began: “Long, long time ago, way down deep in the heart of Mother Africa, there lived a very special people known as the Cocos. The Coco kingdom was, as with the Coco people, all Coco brown. The dirt was Coco brown and so were the huts, their clothing and the river. The Coco kingdom was a very beautiful, magical, and harmonious place.”
Drummer Avreeayl Ra, who played with Muhammad in the NHE, is also featured on the quilt.
“Avreeayl is my buddy!” Platt exclaimed. “He calls me ‘The Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz!’ That’s me!”
Upon seeing himself on the quilt, Ra – whose name has been preceded by the words siss…boom…BAH!...when being introduced by saxophonist Ari Brown – dropped the following bombs:
“Oh yeah! That’s real nice,” he said. “I have very warm feelings for (Linda and John). They are my favorite couple.”
One evening, while vibing with the Great Black Music Ensemble’s energy, Platt saw something quite striking about its conductor, Mwata Bowden.
“He’s got such a recognizable back,” she said about the baritone saxophonist, who is also featured on “Sketches…” After seeing himself on the quilt, Bowden gave the following endorsement: “I say Yes! to Linda Platt’s ‘Sketches from the Velvet Lounge’ quilting project!”
Additional Velvet alumni drawn by Platt include drummer Michael Zerang, bassist Henry Grimes, (as he sneaks in behind pianist Jodie Christian,) violinist Savoir Faire, and flautist, composer, and poet Nicole Mitchell. Platt’s creation, “Velvet Nikki,” is featured somewhere on this screen.
“Linda and her hubby always brought the best energy to the Velvet. My memories of the music there are woven into memories of their kind presence,” Mitchell said, after viewing the creation named in her honor. “The quilt is a beautiful manifestation of Linda’s love for the music and her attention to each artist’s unique voice, which stands out in the portraits embedded in the overall landscape that Baba Fred provided with the Velvet. The Velvet’s wallpaper always reminded me of kente cloth, and Linda makes it a powerful theme to tie the artists together in her quilt.”
From her living room, where a “Dizzy for President” button co-exists peacefully with an 8 x 10 portion of Velvet Lounge wallpaper and countless albums, Platt revealed her plans for her remaining creations.
“There’s more to come. I have at least 59 more drawings,” she said. “I just have to figure out a different way of printing them. That’s my challenge for the future.”
