About the Festival

The 2nd Annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 27, 2008, will bring together world-class headliners and local emerging artists for 14 hours of FREE, non-stop jazz for the serious and casual listener, alike. The Festival will highlight performances by renowned jazz musicians and dance performances, while celebrating the music and culture of Chicago's Hyde Park. Ramsey Lewis is serving as this year's Honorary Festival Chair and WNUA 95.5 as its Media Sponsor.

The Festival headliners are world-class, award winning, respected authorities on jazz and its culture. Performers include premier pianist/composer Reginald R. Robinson, flutist/composer Nicole Mitchell, Delmark recording saxophonist Ari Brown, jazz violinist Zach Brock, vocalist/composer/arranger Grazyna Auguscik, saxophonist & owner of famed Velvet Lounge Fred Anderson, silver-screen trumpeter Orbert Davis; jazz vocalist Dee Alexander; Grammy-nominated trumpeter Ron Haynes, saxophone masters Chicago Sax in the City; Brazilian-style jazz duo Two For Brazil; jazz vocalist Maggie Brown; pianist/arranger Willie Pickens; trumpeter Corey Wilkes and many, many others.

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival utilizes a variety of creative and unexpected performance venues, including the DuSable Museum of African American History, Oriental Institute, Quadrangle Club, Smart Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House, Hyde Park Art Center, Checkerboard Lounge, Rockefeller Chapel, Little Black Pearl, Experimental Station, International House and the main stage at the Midway Plaisance. Festival shuttles will continually loop, transporting attendees, free of charge, to all the venues.

The 2nd Annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival is produced by the Hyde Park Cultural Alliance, the University of Chicago, and the Hyde Park Jazz Society.