Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Trumpeter, Educator Jim Rotondi Dies at 61
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Soul singer Mavis Staples is set to headline the 2018 Chicago Blues Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Chicago Blues Festival)Mavis Staples tops the bill for this year’s Chicago Blues Festival at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
The festival, which began in 1984, is set to run June 8-10 and features Delmark Records marking its 65th anniversary with a spate of performances on Friday. A tribute to Little Walter is on tap for Saturday. And Fantastic Negrito, who won NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Contest in 2015, is among the Sunday performers, with Staples headlining the evening. The Chicago soul singer issued If All I Was Was Black on ANTI- Records in November.
A more detailed line-up is below.
Friday (65th anniversary of Delmark Records Celebration)
5:30-6:15 p.m.: Corey Dennison Band
6:30-7:15 p.m.: Mississippi Heat with guests Billy Flynn and Giles Corey
7:30-9:30 p.m.: Tribute to Those Who Came Before and Bob Koester
Saturday
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Selwyn Birchwood
6:45-7:45 p.m.: Willie Clayton
8-9:30 p.m.: Little Walter Tribute (featuring Billy Branch, Corky Siegel, Rick Estrin, Sugar Blue and more)
Sunday
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Fantastic Negrito
6:45-7:45 p.m.: Kenny Neal
8-9:30 p.m.: Mavis Staples
For more information about the festival, visit
its website here. DB
Jim Rotondi was acclaimed for his wide, round trumpet tone, remarkable virtuosity and assured swing.
Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Charles Lloyd, seen here at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, makes DownBeat Poll history!
Jul 11, 2024 12:23 PM
The incomparable Charles Lloyd swept the 72nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll, becoming the first artist ever to earn…
“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.”
Jun 4, 2024 12:21 PM
Sitting with Don Was is a comfortable and unhurried exercise. He may seem slightly reserved at first, but ideas and…
The Century Room in downtown Tucson, Arizona, was born in 2021.
May 21, 2024 12:58 PM
Players got to play. It’s long been a part of jazz history: When there’s a venue vacuum, when there are fewer…
“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.
Jun 11, 2024 12:31 PM
Italy’s Umbria Jazz Winter is one of those rare annual festivals that not only coincides with a major holiday —…
