“Summertime and the living is easy…” That’s how the song goes. That’s what the expectation is.

During the summer, there is no end to pleasures derived from long walks, garage sales, reading in the park or at the beach, and free music. There are big music festivals for blues, jazz and gospel in town. The symphony plays at outdoor venues several times a week during the heart of the season. And then there are regular happenings like Tuesdays on the Terrace.

The Museum of Contemporary Art tries to introduce people to art from the last fifty years by serving up free jazz in a convivial atmosphere. They feature a different performer or group every Tuesday from early June through September. The tactic seems to work. Crowds come to the museum’s terrace, between Lake Michigan and the historic water tower Tuesdays after work during the season.

A section of the terrace is blocked off for reserved dinner seating (kind of pricey fare from a Wolfgang Puck venture) and the museum offers hamburgers and brats, beer and cocktails for purchase underneath the terrace. About 60 metal chairs form neat rows behind the playing area. Large white umbrellas create a little shade for the musicians and the soundman and people bring their own folding chairs or blankets to sit on the lawn below.

I love Tuesdays on the Terrace!

The music is free. Some well-known jazz artists play here during the summer. I also pay special attention during the part of the set when the band members are introduced. I like learning the names of the bass player or guy on vibes. I relish the thought that I may hear them in a cozy club at some time in the future and remember that I first heard them one Tuesday in the summer.

I like the people watching at the venue (also free). Short of getting catty, I will check out what people are wearing, their glasses and hair styles, and categorize folks as tourists or locals. And if they are locals, I’ll even imagine what part of the city they’re from.

I like over-hearing random bits of conversations and am often amazed by how much more open people are to begin an exchange with a stranger when it is sunny or when they have a shared topic to complain about like there not being enough chairs.

And the art is free. The museum offers free admission on Tuesdays. I can’t see re-visiting the same galleries every week, but it’s nice to think that if I arrive early, I can learn about a new artist or check out a visiting exhibition.

Of course, I love the fact that Tuesday on the Terrace is free, but I might be even more enamored with its constancy. I appreciate having a mid-week meeting place and entertainment option all summer long.

I know that on Tuesdays at 5:30, from early June through early September, there will be a jazz performance in the shadows of the sculptures of the giant yellow men at the museum.

Having one place I can count on where I can be uplifted by music and art and talk to someone who lives in high-rise along the lake is no small thing.