Chicago Jazz Festival Week

Produced by the Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events
Programmed by the Jazz Institute of Chicago

More information is available at http://chicagojazzfestival.us/

2016 Jazz Fest Week Schedule

Monday, August 29
Jazz Institute of Chicago Presents!
5:30pm - Jeremy Kahn and Steve Million - "Double Monk"
PianoForte Studios - 1335 S. Michigan Ave., and broadcast LIVE on WDCB!

Tuesday, August 30
Jazz Institute of Chicago Presents!
5:30pm - Ari Brown's "Tribute to Ann E. Ward"
PianoForte Studios - 1335 S. Michigan Ave., and broadcast LIVE on WDCB!

Wednesday, August 31
WDCB Presents!
5:30pm - Kimberly Gordon & Dan Murphy
PianoForte Studios - 1335 S. Michigan Ave., and broadcast LIVE on WDCB!

Thursday, September 1 – 12:30 to 1:15pm
LIVE from WDCB!
WDCB welcomes Luke Malewicz’s Heritage Quartet for a live radio performance in advance of the group’s Chicago Jazz Fest appearance (Sat. Sept. 3 at 12:30pm in the Jazz & Heritage Pavilion).

Friday, September 2 – 4 to 4:45pm
LIVE from WDCB!
WDCB welcomes Chris Greene’s Quartet for a live radio performance in advance of the group’s Chicago Jazz Fest appearance (Sat. Sept. 3 at 2:20pm in the Von Freeman Pavilion).

Wednesday, August 31
Jazz Institute of Chicago's Annual ''Jazz Club Tour''
6pm to midnight - click here for more information

Thursday, September 1
(schedule is subject to change)

Chicago Cultural Center - 78 E. Washington St. 

Claudia Cassidy Theater

• 12 Noon–1pm - Dan Trudell Trio

• 1:30–2:30pm - Eric Schneider / Pat Mallinger Quintet
• 3-5:30pm - Charlie Haden – Rambling Boy (film + Q&A)

Preston Bradley Hall

• 12:30–1:30pm - Mwata Bowden’s One Step In, One Step Out

• 2-3pm - Cameron Pififfner’s Adolphe’S AX
• 3:30-4:30pm - Louder Than A Bomb Presents: The Bomb Squad

Millennium Park - Jay Pritzker Pavilion - 201 E. Randolph St.

• 6:30-7:30pm - Brown in Bronzeville Effect with Maggie & Africa Brown
• 8-9pm - Orbert Davis’ Soul Migration
  Commissioned for the Great Black Migration Centennial Celebration

Friday, September 2
(schedule is subject to change)

Millennium Park - 201 E. Randolph St.                                                                         

Von Freeman Pavilion (South Promenade)                                                                   

• 12 Noon–12:55pm - James Sanders Proyecto Libre
• 1:10–2:05pm - Magic Carpet
• 2:20-3:15pm - Greg Rockingham Quartet
• 3:30–4:30pm - Brian Carpenter's Ghost Train Orchestra

Jazz and Heritage Pavilion (North Promenade)
Hosted by WDCB – Chicago’s Home for Jazz!

• 12:30–1:30pm - John McLean: A tribute to Charlie Christian
• 2-3pm - Edwin Daugherty Sextet: Chicago legends; the music of Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin and Eddie Harris
• 3:30–4:30pm - Pharez Whitted Quintet

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

• 5–5:50pm - Brian OHern and the Model Citizens
• 6-6:55pm - Tarbaby featuring Nasheet Wait, Orrin Evans and Eric Reed with special guest Oliver Lake
• 7:10–8:10pm - Benny Golson Quartet
• 8:30–9:30pm -  Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra conducted by Carla Bley: For Charlie

Saturday, September 3
(schedule is subject to change)

Chicago Community Trust Roof Top Jazz (Harris Theater Rooftop Terrace)

• 11:30-12pm - Lenart Jazz Combo and Harold Washington Elementary School Jazz Combo
• 12:15-12:45 - Jones College Prep Jazz Combo
• 1-1:30pm - Whitney Young Magnet High School Jazz Combo
• 2-2:40pm - Curie High School Jazz Ensemble
• 2:55-3:35pm - Pritzker College Prep Jazz Ensemble
• 3:50-4:30pm - Kenwood Academy Jazz Ensemble

Millennium Park - 201 E. Randolph St.                                                                          

Von Freeman Pavilion (South Promenade)                                                                   

• 12 Noon–12:55pm - Steve Schneck Quartet
• 1:10–2:05pm - Alyssa Allgood Quintet
• 2:20–3:15pm - Chris Greene Quartet
• 3:30–4:30pm - Victor Garcia Organ Septet

Jazz and Heritage Pavilion (North Promenade)
Hosted by WDCB – Chicago’s Home for Jazz!

• 12:30–1:30pm - Luke Malewicz Heritage Quartet
• 2–3pm - Nate Lepine Quartet
• 3:30–4:30pm - JD Allen Trio

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

• 5–5:50pm - Tatsu Aoki's MIYUMI Project featuring Tsukasa Taiko, Jon Jang & Francis Wong
• 6–6:55pm - Eric Alexander / Harold Mabern Quartet
• 7:10–8:10pm - Anat Cohen Quartet
• 8:30–9:30pm - The Bad Plus perform Ornette Coleman’s SCIENCE FICTION with Tim Berne, Ron Miles & Sam Newsome
  This work was commissioned by Duke Performances at Duke University

Sunday, September 4
(schedule is subject to change)

Chicago Community Trust Roof Top Jazz: NextGenJazz (Harris Theater Rooftop Terrace)

• 11:30am-12:30pm - Alexis Lombre Quintet
• 12:50-1:50pm - Joel Ross’ Good Vibes
• 2:10-3:10pm - Hanging Hearts
• 3:30-4:30pm - Foster Meets Brooks Big Band

Millennium Park - 201 E. Randolph St.

Von Freeman Pavilion (South Promenade)                                                             

• 12 Noon–12:55pm - Kendall Moore Octet
• 1:10–2:05pm - Charles Rumback Sextet
• 2:20–3:15pm - George Fludas Quartet
• 3:30–4:30pm - Barry Altschul's 3Dom

Jazz and Heritage Pavilion (North Promenade)
Hosted by WDCB – Chicago’s Home for Jazz!

• 12:30–1:30pm - Erwin Helfer Solo Piano
• 2–3pm - Norman Simmons Trio
• 3:30–4:30pm - Doreen's Jazz New Orleans

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

• 5–5:50pm - Michael Zerang & The Blue Lights
• 6–6:55pm - Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
• 7:10–8:10pm - John Scofield / Joe Lovano Quartet
• 8:30-9:30pm - Candido Camero’s 95th Birthday Celebration featuring M.F. Production’s Latin Jazz All Stars Featuring: Candido Camero, Steve Turre, Nestor Torres, Sammy Figueroa, Frankie Figueroa, Elio Villa Franca, Yunior Terry, Diego Lopez, Jorge Castro and Guido Gonzalez

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is pleased to announce the headliners for the 38th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. The festivalwill take place in Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington Street) September 1-4, showcasing the greatest jazz artists from Chicago and around the world. The FREE admission Chicago Jazz Festival is produced by DCASE and programmed by the Jazz Institute of Chicago (JIC).

“As a favorite Labor Day Weekend tradition, the 38^th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival will celebrate the genre’s future while exploring the rich history that continues to influence jazz today,” said Michelle T. Boone, Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

This year marks the Centennial of the Great Migration, the mass movement of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the urban Midwest, Northeast and West beginning in1916.  Chicago was a key destination for that transformative relocation, with a momentous impact on the development of jazz as a vernacular music from New Orleans  into an industry in Chicago.

That history will be marked in several ways throughout this year’s festival, most notably in the premiere performance of a newly-commissioned piece entitled Soul Migration by Chicago trumpeter, composer and bandleader Orbert Davis that will headline opening night on Thursday, September 1. Commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Festival, Davis’ piece will trace the route of the people who made the trek northward with a suite that takes listeners on a moving journey of their own.

On Friday,  September 2,   the evening will culminate with late bass legend Charlie Haden’s politically-charged Liberation Music Orchestra, now led by Haden’s longtime collaborator and arranger Carla Bley and featuring electric bass great Scott Colley. The stellar band upholds the revolutionary legacy of Haden, who tragically passed away in 2014 after a long illness, for a performance entitled, Celebrating Charlie.

The evening will also feature a performance by influential composer, arranger and saxophonist Benny Golson. The Philadelphia-born hard bop pioneer is responsible for several of the most-played standards in jazz, including “I Remember Clifford,” “Killer Joe,” “Stablemates,” and “Along Came Betty.” He also helped pave the way for jazz composers in the world of film and television, spending years writing for shows like M*A*S*H and Mission: Impossible.

Saturday, September 3 headliners include Israeli-born saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen and her quartet, one of the most exciting bands in modern jazz. The classically-trained Cohen melds influences from her native Israel with electrifying jazz, Brazilian choro, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, all expressed with an engaging, joyous presence that compels audiences to dance.

She’ll be followed by The Bad Plus with special guests, alto saxophonist Tim Berne, cornetist Ron Miles and soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome playing the music of recently departed jazz iconoclast, Ornette Coleman from his groundbreaking 1972 album, Science Fiction.

The final night will feature two can’t-miss concerts. The first will be the quartet co-led by guitarist John Scofield and saxophonist Joe Lovano, two of the most revered and influential artists of the last 40 years. Scofield’s acclaimed new album, Past Present (Impulse!) reunites his much-heralded band from the early 1980s that helped launch Lovano’s career.

The festival will conclude with what is sure to be an explosively festive set celebrating the milestone 95th birthday of legendary Cuban percussionist Candido Camero – better known as just Candido. The all-star celebration will feature a host of special guests including trombonist Steve Turre, flautist Nestor Torres, pianist Elio Villafranca, singer Frankie Figueroa, bassist Yunior Terry and percussionist Sammy Figueroa.

“The festival strives to touch on the broad range of music that falls under ‘jazz,’ and even some things that stretch that definition slightly,” says Mike Reed, Programming Chair of the Chicago Jazz Festival. “Just look at the variety in our headliners. They’re all very powerful investigations, deep in their own aesthetics while still being engaging music on every level.”

The range of artists comprising the Chicago Jazz Festival runs the gamut from jazz legends celebrating momentous occasions to commemorations of key contributions by lost giants, from influential modern masters to crucial new voices in the music’s continuing evolution.

The Chicago Jazz Festival is sponsored in part by American Airlines, Chicago Jazz Magazine, Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago Tribune, CLTV-ChicagoLand’s Television, Communications Direct, Downbeat Magazine, LaGROU Distribution System, Stella Artois and WGN-TV.