May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble (CJE), led by Artistic Director Jon Faddis, continues the Ninth American Heritage Jazz Series with The Music of Duke Ellington: Featuring Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, Dec. 14 at Chicago’s Harris Theater. Preceding the concert, Faddis will discuss the legacy of Ellington with music writer and broadcaster Neil Tesser.
Ellington called his Sacred Concerts the most important works he’d ever written. These works, composed between 1965 and 1973, combine elements of jazz, European classical, choral music, blues, dance, spirituals and gospel. Faddis and the CJE will be joined by a full gospel choir, featuring CJE vocalist Bobbi Wilsyn with special guest vocalists Stephanie Dixon, Maggie Brown and Robert Sims. Tap dancer Bril Barrett also joins the Ensemble.
More info: chijazz.com
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
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