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2011 Chicago Jazz Festival Schedule
2011 Chicago Jazz Festival Schedule
Date Posted: June 02 2011
Written By: Chicago Jazz
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33rd Annual Chicago Jazz Festival Remains Free Admission
Festival Continues to Expand Beyond Grant Park, Sept. 1-4, 2011
The 33rd Annual Chicago Jazz Festival, Sept. 1-4, is once again free admission, produced by the City of Chicago and programmed by the Jazz Institute of Chicago. The longest running free jazz festival will take place in four locations: The Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University and in Grant Park on Sept. 3-4. Once again, the festival is produced in cooperation with the Chicago Jazz Partnership.
The festival is pleased to welcome Artist-in-Residence, Orbert Davis, who returns for the first time since the debut of his Chicago Jazz Philharmonic in 2004, and headliners Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, David Liebman and Ravi Coltrane, vocalist Cassandra Wilson and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
Following last year’s successful expansion into new venues, the festival will open at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, on Thursday, Sept. 1 with performances representing a wide array of local talent in the Randolph Café, Claudia Cassidy Theater and Preston Bradley Hall.
Later that evening, festival attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy the final concert of the Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz series at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, which is also opening night of the Chicago Jazz Festival. The concert includes Randy Weston and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble featuring the arrangements of Melba Liston.
Friday evening at the Pritzker Pavilion is headlined by a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of three powerhouse horn players in Saxophone Summit. Lovano, Liebman, and Coltrane are among the most important saxophone influences of their generation whose credits as leaders and sidemen are a who's who of contemporary music across all genres. Joining them is a world-class rhythm section; pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart. The evening opens with a performance by Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom and the Deep Blue Organ Trio with special guest saxophonist Bobby Watson beginning at 6:30p.m.
Earlier on Friday at 5p.m., Artist-in-Residence Davis brings his trio to Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Avenue, in Ganz Hall on the 7th floor for his first of four festival performances. Playing with him will be pianist Brandon McCune and bassist Stewart Miller.
On Saturday, the festival moves to its traditional grounds in Grant Park, where the free event expands to four stages of diverse music. Artist-in-Residence Davis takes to the stage at the Petrillo Music Shell at 7:10 p.m.with his 18-piece Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble. The program includes the premiere of a new composition by Davis, as well as a re-visitation of Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain and other new arrangements. The chamber ensemble will feature special guests, violinist Zachary Brock and pianist Brandon McCune.
The finale that evening is Grammy® Award-winning artist, Cassandra Wilson. Wilson’s career truly demonstrates the many colors of her musical palette. Classically trained on piano as a child, her musical education continued with the clarinet and eventually led to using her own voice as instrument. Her work ranged from performing Joni
Mitchell songs to blues and funk, and then later she developed her jazz career. Wilson won her first Grammy
Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance in 1996 with New Moon Daughter, and most recently she earned Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy honors.
On Sunday, Davis completes his Artist-in-Residency duties with two performances: with his quintet featuring pianist Ryan Cohan, bassist Stu Miller, drummer Ernie Adams and long-time playing partner Ari Brown on tenor saxophone on the Jazz on Jackson Stage; and with top high school and college students whom he has taught and mentored through his work at Jazz Alive and the Jazz Academy Summer Camp at the Chicago Community Trust Young Lions Jazz Stage.
Returning for its third year is the increasingly popular Chicago Community Trust Young Jazz Lions Stage where
12 High School and College Jazz Bands perform on Saturday and Sunday of the festival. On Saturday, the stage closes with the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble with special guest, saxophone legend Phil Woods, and on Sunday with Curie High School performing a special commission by trumpeter Victor Garcia.
The afternoon stages in Grant Park include the Cricket Wireless Jazz & Heritage Stage, which closes with Inspiracion Latina Saturday and vocalist Joan Collasso Sunday, and the Jazz on Jackson Stage featuring the Gerald Clayton Trio as Saturday’s finale and the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International as Sunday’s closing act.
The final evening of performances Sunday night at the Petrillo Music Shell kicks off with a new project, Mike Reed’s Myth/Science Assembly, commissioned by the Experimental Sound Studio’s Creative Audio Archive, with generous support from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. Reed’s project explores the edges of the myths surrounding bandleader Sun Ra and features vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, cellist Tomekka Reid, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, Taylor Ho Bynum on coronet, Mary Halvorson on guitar and Joshua Abrams on bass.
Then, a festival tradition of marking milestone birthdays continues with a celebration of Ira Sullivan’s 80th Birthday. Special guests scheduled to appear with Sullivan include his long-time friend, pianist Willie Pickens, who also turned 80 this year.
Grammy Award winning saxophonist David Sanchez follows and he performs with special guest Stefon Harris on Vibraphone. The festival finale is trumpeter Roy Hargrove, who, like Cassandra Wilson, demonstrates a broad range of musical influences. Hargrove’s Grammy wins testify to that: A Best Latin Jazz Performance with Chucho Valdez in 1997 and a win in 2002 for his collaboration with Herbie Hancock, earning the Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz Album Group. On various recordings Hargrove has demonstrated musical skills in such different genres as standards with strings, Hip-hop, Latin Jazz and full on swing, providing a fitting end to a festival dedicated to all forms of jazz.
Jazz Festival hours are noon – 3p.m. Thursday at Chicago Cultural Center; 6:30p.m. Thursday at Millennium Park; Friday, 5p.m. at Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University; 6:30-9:30p.m. Friday at Millennium Park; and on September 3 and 4 in Grant Park, festival hours are 11a.m. - 9:30p.m For more information, call (312) 744-3316, TTY (312) 744-2964. Visit www.chicagojazzfestival.us for updates on performers and the festival.
The 33rd Annual Chicago Jazz Festival is produced by the Dept. of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and programmed by the Jazz Institute of Chicago, with support provided by the Chicago Jazz Partnership. The Young Jazz Lions Stage is made possible by The Chicago Community Trust and Cricket Wireless is the new Title Sponsor of Jazz & Heritage Stage.
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