Chicago & Detroit Festivals Welcome Jazz Fans

  I  
Image

The Chicago Jazz Fest (left) and Detroit Jazz Fest will take place over Labor Day Weekend. Admission to both festivals is free.

(Photo: Courtesy Chicago Jazz Festival/Detroit Jazz Festival)

Jazz fans within earshot of Chicago and Detroit might want to pack up the car and head into town, as both cities play host to their free annual jazz festivals.

The 39th Chicago Jazz Festival is underway in the Windy City, with pianist Jason Moran set to take the stage Friday evening at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in downtown Millenium Park. His performance is one of many in this music-packed marathon of jazz concerts, which culminates Sunday, Sept. 3, with New Orleans’ Rebirth Brass Band. Additional headliners include the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio, Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom, reedist Roscoe Mitchell and vocal icon Sheila Jordan.

The Chicago Jazz Festival will also feature tributes to Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk—all of whom celebrate their centennial anniversaries in 2017.

Celebrating its 38th year, the Detroit Jazz Festival runs from Friday through Monday, Sept. 4. Friday will see performances by bass phenom Miles Mosley at 8:30 p.m. and keyboard legend Herbie Hancock at 9 p.m.

The festival will also feature appearances by Donny McCaslin, the supergroup Hudson, pianist Billy Childs, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington, pianist Vijay Iyer and many more.

Special showcases include performances by the Mack Avenue All-Stars, a tribute to Michael Brecker, a performance by featured artist Karriem Riggins with rapper Common, and a finale concert with Detroit Jazz Festival Artist-in-Residence Wayne Shorter.

For a complete lineup of artists at the Chicago Jazz Festival, click here.

To view the full performance schedule for the Detroit Jazz Festival, click here. DB



  • 0c3c86_2fd4930d4a61477c8516238ae334ebb5~mv2_d_2000_1335_s_2_copy.jpeg

    Jim Rotondi was acclaimed for his wide, round trumpet tone, remarkable virtuosity and assured swing.

  • DB24_Charles_Lloyd_by_Douglas_Mason_at_New_Orleans_Jazz_Fest.jpg

    Charles Lloyd, seen here at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, makes DownBeat Poll history!

  • DonWas_A1100547_byMyriamSantos_copy.jpg

    “Being president of Blue Note has been one of the coolest things that ever happened to me,” Was said. “It’s a gas to serve as one of the caretakers of that legacy.”

  • Century_Room_by_Travis_Jensen.jpg

    ​The Century Room in downtown Tucson, Arizona, was born in 2021.

  • Cecile_McLorin_Salvant_Ashley_Kahn_bu_David_Morresi_copy.jpg

    ​“She reminds me of my childhood and makes we want to cry,” Cécile McLorin Salvant, pictured here with writer Ashley Kahn, said of Dianne Reeves.


On Sale Now
August 2024
72nd Annual Critics Poll
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad