Hyde Park Jazz Festival

Chicago always has produced jazz giants, larger-than-life figures whose art towers over that of mere mortals. Who are today’s Chicago jazz giants? Following is an annotated guide to some of the titans who will be performing during the fall season.

Six years ago, it was a neighborhood soiree that — to everyone’s surprise — attracted turn-away crowds. Today, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival stands as a cultural force in its own right, an ever-expanding event that’s evolving into a bona fide artistic institution.

Miguel Zenon, a MacArthur “genius grant” winner and one of the most admired young musicians in jazz, will headline the 6th annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival, a free event running Sept. 29 and 30 in various Hyde Park locations.
Zenon will play a rare solo show 10:45 p.m. Sept. 29 at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave.

What makes a great jazz festival? Certainly you need top musicians, superb venues, creative presentations, engaged audiences and a sense of constant reinvention and surprise.

By those criteria, the fifth annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival – which ended Sunday – qualified as the most artistically satisfying fest on Chicago’s jazz calendar. That all the performances were free and open to everyone, yet not dependent on City Hall largesse, only underscored the miracle of this independently produced event.

For its fifth YEAR the Hyde Park Jazz Festival expands to two days and features 16 venues hosting more than 40 shows this Saturday and Sunday (9/24-9/25). Saturday’s performances begin at 1 PM and culminate in a midnight jam session at the U. of C.’s Mandel Hall (1414 E. 59th).

The 5^th annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place over the weekend. Among the many performers are two instrumentalists and composers – Diane Ellis and Tomeka Reid. Ellis’ saxophone and Reid’s cello are miles apart musically but the two share a passion for their craft. They also share another trait – they are women in a predominantly male profession. WBEZ’s Richard Steele spoke with the ladies about their influences and experiences as female jazz musicians. Click here to listen to the interview.

Rarely has a Chicago musical institution grown as dramatically and impressively as the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. What started as a one-day event five years ago will double in duration this weekend, bringing top-notch musicians to first-rate venues across the neighborhood. But that’s just part of the story of this festival’s blossoming.