Hyde Park Jazz Festival re-imagines itself amid pandemic
By Howard Reich
Jun 30, 2020 at 12:38 pm
A few months ago, Kate Dumbleton had the 14th annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival pretty much mapped out.
As always, the event would feature September performances in venues across the historic neighborhood, concerts in the University of Chicago’s Logan Center, commissioned work and more.
The coronavirus pandemic shattered all that, of course, to the disappointment of executive and artistic director Dumbleton, her colleagues and anyone who has admired this most inventive of Chicago jazz festivals.
But rather than cancel the event, Dumbleton and friends have reimagined it. According to the current plan, the festival will open with a day’s worth of performances streamed live from the Logan Center on Sept. 26. “The University of Chicago protocols for building occupancy will guide decisions about whether there can be a physically distanced audience,” according to a festival statement.
On Sept. 27, the festival will present small ensembles in short sets across Hyde Park, using mobile stages to bring the music to listeners, rather than drawing large groups of listeners to particular venues.