The 32nd Annual Chicago Jazz Festival Awaits You

It may no longer be the world’s largest free jazz festival (at least not currently), but it’s worth attending, both your nourishment and for your exposure to a panoply of styles that all fit into the one tent called jazz. The weather is perfect. The weekend rail pass is a good deal. You have no good enough excuse not to go.

Saturday, September 4

Jazz on Jackson Stage: 
12:00 – 12:55 Douglas Ewart Nyahbingi Drum Choir


1:10 – 2:05 Paul Giallorenzo’s GitGo
2:20 – 3:15 Maggie Brown: “A Tribute to Abbey Lincoln”
3:30 – 4:30 Dana Hall Quintet, with special guest Nicholas Payton
6:00 – 7:30 Corey Wilkes


8:00 – 9:00 Steve Cole

Chicago Community Trust Young Jazz Lions Stage:
12:00 – 12:30 Chi-Arts Jazz Combo
12:45 – 1:15 Jazz Ambassadors Combo
1:30 – 2:10 Kenwood Academy Jazz Ensemble
2:25 – 3:05 Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School Jazz Ensemble
3:20 – 3:50 Lincoln Park High School Jazz Ensemble
4:05 – 4:50 Roosevelt University Jazz Ensemble

Jazz and Heritage Stage:
12:30 – 1:30 West End Jazz Band
2:00 – 3:00 Cameron Pfiffner’s Marco Polo
3:30 – 4:30 Nicole Mitchell’s Sonic Projections

Petrillo Music Shell:
5:00 – 5:50 Chuchito Valdez Afro-Cuban Ensemble
6:00 – 6:55 Rene Marie “High Maintenance” Quartet
7:10 – 8:10 Charisma: “A Lee Morgan Tribute”
8:30 – 9:30 The Either/Orchestra, with special guests Mahmoud Ahmed and Teshome Mitiku

Sunday, September 5

Jazz on Jackson Stage:
12:00 – 12:55 Paulinho Garcia Quintet
1:10 – 2:05 Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble


2:20 – 3:15 Brad Goode Quartet
3:30 – 4:30 Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band
6:00 – 7:30 Harlan Jefferson
8:00 – 9:00 Norman Brown

 
Chicago Community Trust Young Jazz Lions Stage:
12:00 – 12:30 Northside College Prep Jazz Combo
12:45 – 1:15 Whitney Young Magnet High School Jazz Combo
1:30 – 2:10 Lakeview High School Jazz Ensemble
2:25 – 3:05 John Hersey High School Jazz Ensemble
3:30 – 4:05 University of Chicago Jazz X-Tet
Jazz and Heritage Stage:
12:30 – 1:30 Bethany Pickens Trio
2:00 – 3:00 NOMO
3:30 – 4:30 Saalik Ziyad’s 5 After 7 Project

Petrillo Music Shell:
5:00 – 6:00 Brad Mehldau Trio


6:15 – 7:05 Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls
7:20 – 8:15 Henry Threadgill’s Zooid


8:30 – 9:30 Kurt Elling Quintet with special guest Ernie Watts

W. o’ W.: Elliott Gould

“One of the things that is at the root of our problems as a species is the ego.

“With the ego, then there’s fear.”