Chicago Jazz Festival Festival 2017 - Full Lineup!
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is pleased to announce the full lineup of performances for the 39th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival, August 31- September 3, in Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.). A favorite Labor Day weekend tradition, the festival showcases free live performances by important Chicago artists alongside some of the greatest names from around the world on multiple stages. The FREE-admission Chicago Jazz Festival is produced by DCASE and programmed by the Jazz Institute of Chicago (JIC). For the complete lineup, visit chicagojazzfestival.us.
Pianist and MacArthur Fellow, Jason Moran will lead a special centennial celebration performance for Thelonius Monk with a presentation of In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall 1959. His tribute to Thelonious Monk is one of three centennial celebrations at the festival in 2017 that were previously announced, including a homage to bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie led by his most famous protégé and Chicago favorite Jon Faddis and a celebration of the singular vocalist Ella Fitzgerald.
Other newly announced performances include a rare appearance by legendary South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo with his London-based combo Five Blokes, featuring rising stars Shabaka Hutchings on saxophone and Alexander Hawkins on piano. The New York City Balkan band Slavic Soul Party! will perform the Duke Ellington classic Far East Suite and the Chicago début of the Mary Halvorson Octet, led by the increasingly influential guitarist who topped four categories in DownBeat Magazine’s Critics Poll.
Previously announced headliners include a Sunday-night finale with The Rebirth Brass Band from New Orleans; the celebration of Ella Fitzgerald with Dee Alexander, Frieda Lee, Paul Marinaro, Spider Saloff and Sheila Jordan (who will perform her own set with piano icon Steve Kuhn); 90-year-young guitarist George Freeman birthday celebration; the Donny McCaslin Group; Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio; Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom; New Orleans clarinetist Dr. Michael White; and the towering improviser Roscoe Mitchell, marking the 50th anniversary of Nessa Records (a label that documented some of his earliest work). Thursday night’s Dizzy Gillespie Tribute features Jon Faddis leading the Chicago Jazz Festival Big Band, with special guests Jimmy Heath (tenor sax), Antonio Hart (alto), Todd Coolman (bass) and Ignacio Berroa. Finally, Sunday brings the world premiere of Matt Wilson’s Honey and Salt, based on texts by poet Carl Sandburg.
Resident Chicago musicians who will perform throughout the festival include the Lowdown Brass Band; two drummer-led groups, the Charles Heath Quartet and Gustavo Cortiñas’s Snapshot; Hearts & Minds with bass clarinetist Jason Stein; vocalists Typhanie Monique and Michele Thomas; and two bands honoring great artists of the past: Tim Fitzgerald’s Full House, a seven-piece inspired by the music of Wes Montgomery, and Stu Katz’ Shearing Redux, a re-creation of the classic George Shearing Quintet featuring guitar great Bobby Broom.
Other additions from Chicago’s vast pool of talent are Shawn Maxwell’s New Tomorrow, the Joe Policastro Trio, the Josh Berman Quartet, trad-jazz favorites the Jonathan Doyle Swingtet and Johnny Blas & His Afro Libre Orquesta. The final lineup also includes groups led by pianists JoAnn Daugherty and Reggie Thomas, a project led by saxist Rob Denty and drummer Tim Mulvenna, Rooms Trio and dana hall’s spring, a band inspired by the early work of drumming legend Tony Williams.
The Chicago Jazz Festival will kick off at 11 a.m.on Thursday, August 31, at the Chicago Cultural Center with the Jazz Village, featuring Chicago’s jazz community including some of the city’s vibrant record labels, advocacy organizations and live jazz presenters sharing information about the rich diversity of music in the Chicagoland area. Later in the afternoon comes a presentation on Afro Cuban music by percussion great Ignacio Berroa, who joined Dizzy Gillespie’s quartet in 1981, as well as performances led by phenom Thaddeus Tukes Quintet, guitarist Tim Stine and internationally acclaimed Dave Rempis leading a quintet performing the 1964 Blue Note LP Action by alto saxophonist Jackie McLean.
Admission to the Chicago Jazz Festival is free, and hours for Thursday, August 31, are noon–4:30 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center and 6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. in Millennium Park. On Friday, September 1, through Sunday, September 3, the festival will be in Millennium Park, 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m.
For more details, visit the Chicago Jazz Fest website: ChicagoJazzFestival.us.
Thursday, August 31
Chicago Cultural Center, GAR Rotunda
11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. A Jazz Village featuring Chicago’s Jazz Community
Claudia Cassidy Theater
11 a.m. - Noon The Evolution of Afro-Cuban Jazz: A Talk with Ignacio Berroa
12:15 - 1:15 p.m. Thaddeus Tukes Quintet
1:45 - 2:45 p.m. Tim StineTrio
3:15 - 4:15 p.m. Dave Rempis Quintet performing Jackie McLean’s Action
Randolph Square
Noon - 1 p.m. Curtis Prince Band featuring Ari Brown
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. West End Jazz Band
3 - 4 p.m. Southport Records Celebrates 40 Years of Sparrow
Preston Bradley Hall
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. “What Is This Thing Called Jazz” with Willie Pickens and Miguel de la Cerna
2 - 3 p.m. Young Chicago Authors
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Chicago Jazz Composers Collective
Millennium Park
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
6:30 - 7:30 p.m. George Freeman 90th Birthday Celebration
8 - 9:30 p.m. Dizzy Gillespie’s Centennial Celebration with Jon Faddis and the Chicago Jazz Festival Big Band
Friday, September 1
Von Freeman Pavilion (South Promenade)
Noon - 12:55 p.m. Tim Fitzgerald’s Full House
1:10 - 2:05 p.m. Steve Gibons Gypsy Rhythm
2.20 - 3:15 p.m. Rob Denty / Tim Mulvenna Duo Plus
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Slavic Soul Party!
Jazz and Heritage Pavilion (North Promenade) - Hosted by WDCB!
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Joe Policastro Trio
2 - 3 p.m. Reggie Thomas Quintet
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Stu Katz Shearing Redux
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
5 - 5:50 p.m. Dana Hall’s Spring
6 - 6:55 p.m. Donny McCaslin Group
7:10 - 8:10 p.m. Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio
8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Jason Moran (pictured above) presents In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall 1959
Saturday, September 2
Roof Top Jazz: Young Jazz Lions (Harris Theater Rooftop Terrace)
11:30 a.m. - Noon Morgan Park High School Jazz Combo
12:15 - 12:45 p.m. Jones College Prep Jazz Combo
1 - 1:30 p.m. Whitney Young High School Jazz Combo
2 - 2:40 p.m. Kelly High School Jazz Ensemble
2:55 - 3:35 p.m. Kenwood Academy High School Jazz Ensemble
3:50 - 4:30 p.m. Roosevelt University Jazz Ensemble plays A Love Supreme
Von Freeman Pavilion (South Promenade)
Noon - 12:55 p.m. Charles Heath Quartet
1:10 - 2:05 p.m. Gustavo Cortiñas Snapshot
2:20 - 3:15 p.m. Hearts & Minds
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Mary Halvorson Octet
Jazz and Heritage Pavilion (North Promenade) - Hosted by WDCB!
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Typhanie Monique
2 - 3 p.m. Shawn Maxwell’s New Tomorrow
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Low Down Brass Band
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
5 - 5:50 p.m. Dr. Michael White Quartet
6 - 6:55 p.m. BassDrumBone
7:10 - 8:10 p.m. Allison Miller Boom Tic Boom
8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Ellabration! 100 Years of Ella Fitzgerald featuring the Brad William Trio, Sheila Jordan, Dee Alexander (pictured above), Frieda Lee, Spider Saloff and Paul Marinaro
Sunday, September 3
Roof Top Jazz: NextGenJazz (Harris Theater Rooftop Terrace)
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Jenna Przbysz Collective
12:30 -1:15 p.m. Trilogy (Kevin King, Jeremy Warren, Jada Stroud)
1:30 - 2:15 p.m. Infrared Quintet led by Kenthaney Redmond
2:30 - 3:15 p.m. Possibilities Trio (Tim Bennett, Dan Stein, Peter Manheim)
3:30 - 4:15 p.m. Chosen Few led by Isaiah Collier
Von Freeman Pavilion (South Promenade)
Noon - 12:55 p.m. Rooms Trio
1:10 - 2:05 p.m. The Jonathan Doyle Swingtet
2:20 - 3:15 p.m. Josh Berman Quartet
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Louis Moholo-Moholo: Five Blokes
Jazz and Heritage Pavilion (North Promenade) - Hosted by WDCB!
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Michele Thomas
2 - 3 p.m. JoAnn Daugherty
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Johnny Blas Afro Libre Orquesta
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
5 - 5:50 p.m. Roscoe Mitchell’s Quartets Celebrating 50 years of Nessa Records
6 - 6:55 p.m. Sheila Jordan featuring Steve Kuhn's Trio
7:10 - 8:10 p.m. Matt Wilson’s Honey and Salt
8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Rebirth Brass Band (pictured above)
*Schedule & Times Subject To Change
