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
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