Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
Hyde Park Jazz Fest on Chicago’s South Side to Present 20th Edition
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
“I specifically remember Linda walking into class every week with 10-page-long new compositions. I was very inspired — you were very capable,” says Fabian Almazan of meeting his future wife when they were students at Manhattan School of Music.
(Photo: Robert Torres)
“He was such a beautiful guy,” George Garzone says of the late tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker. He pays tribute to Brecker on his new recording, Themes For Good Friends.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
“When I listen to things, I want to be moved, and I don’t need to be impressed,” says Nils Petter Molvær.
(Photo: Anna Rosenlund)
Two new box sets feature Oscar Peterson both live and in studio.
(Photo: DownBeat Archive)
James Carter (left) and Eric Wyatt
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Chris Potter
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Clifton Anderson
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Gary Bartz
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Jason Moran
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Javon Jackson
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Joe Lovano
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Russell Blake
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Camille Thurman
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Herbie Hancock, left, and Ron Carter performed as a duo at this year’s Monterey Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Nic Coury)
“I’m not going to create a powerful performance by overpowering the audience,” Okazaki explained. “I’m going to create a powerful performance by maintaining interest in what’s going to happen next.”
(Photo: Jesse Wakeman/Dead Letter Office)
Tomeka Reid’s In Tribute To Ellington could easily have made everyone happy by simply playing Duke’s music, but she took a more challenging route.
(Photo: Marc Monaghan)
Scott Robinson, shown here in “The Lab,” will play a recording of the first movement from his long-term project Reach For Tomorrow on Thursday, Oct. 1, at Hunter College in Manhattan.
(Photo: Courtesy Scott Robinson)
Alto saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins has been named a 2026 MacArthur fellow.
(Photo: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)
Lalah Hathaway entranced fans at this year’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Pittsburgh Jazz Fest)
Herbie Hancock and jazz impresario Darlene Chan were honored at a September gala in support of the L.A. jazz club Sam First.
(Photo: Craig Allyn)
“It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”
(Photo: Joe Alper)
Record producer Bob Thiele’s classic photo that became the cover of John Coltrane’s landmark album A Love Supreme.
(Photo: Bob Thiele)
Zuraitis explores the full gamut of a love affair on The Devil I Knew.
(Photo: Drew Bordeaux)
A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.
(Photo: Courtesy Joshua Redman)
SUNY Fredonia Jazz Flextet, a great example of working together.
(Photo: Lordi Deemer)
Andrew Bishop
(Photo: Courtesy University of Michigan)
Quentin Angus
(Photo: Desmond White)
John Gunther
(Photo: Courtesy John Gunther)
Delfeayo Marsalis
(Photo: Steve Rapport)
Rodney Jordan (left) and Marcus Roberts.
(Photo: Megan Mowrey)
Mitch Butler rehearses the William Paterson Jazz Orchestra.
(Photo: Shyla Murray)
Jordan Goldman conducts at the Thornton School.
(Photo: Becky Sapp)
Rodney Whitaker speaks to students at Michigan State.
(Photo: Courtesy Michigan State University)
“Are you for the whole or are you for yourself only?” says Terri Lyne Carrington. “There’s a balance because we live in a capitalist society.”
(Photo: Meredith Truax)
Pianist Brad Mehldau will perform with his trio at Big Ears 2027 in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.
(Photo: Courtesy Brad Mehldau)
Icelandic guitarist and composer Lilja leads her longtime working band at this year’s Reykjavík Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Pétur Oddbergur for Reykjavík Jazz Festival )
“It’s rare for bassists to get that opportunity to duet with a vocalist,” says Chuck Bergeron. “I thought it would be great to do a whole recording like that.”
(Photo: Gabriella Bianchini)
Seeking innovative band projects with unique visions, compelling live performances and a willingness to tour across Europe and beyond, jazzahead! has put out a call for applications to its different showcase modules. The application window is open until Sept. 30.
(Photo: Courtesy jazzahead!)
SML, from left, Booker Stardrum, Josh Johnson, Jeremiah Chiu, Anna Butterss and Greg Uhlmann.
(Photo: Ariel Fisher)
Ron Carter Foursight Quartet will perform on Monterey’s Ray Drummond West End Stage the evening of Sept. 25.
(Photo: Adam Cantor)
Chris Botti’s band vs. Gregory Porter’s in a Family Feud-style battle of the ensembles.
(Photo: Courtesy Signature Cruise Experiences)
Marcus Miller, Boney James and Kenny G hanging together on the Smooth Jazz Cruise.
(Photo: John Abbott)
The Celebrity Theater.
(Photo: Courtesy Signature Cruise Experiences)
Christian McBride digs into his bass on The Jazz Cruise.
(Photo: Courtesy Signature Cruise Experiences)
Daytime dancing on deck is always encouraged.
(Photo: Courtesy Signature Cruise Experiences)
Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.
(Photo: Courtesy Signature Cruise Experiences)
Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
“I wanted it to be bare,” says Zaccai Curtis of his new album. “I didn’t want to have a ton of overdubs.”
(Photo: Cedric Pilard)
Marshall Allen, left, and bassist/producer Jamaaladeen Tacuma in front of the Sun Ra House (aka the Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra) in Philadelphia.
(Photo: KA)
Saxophonist Anna Webber shares the front line with trumpeter Adam O’Farrill during a performance by Shimmer Wince at Jazz em Agosto.
(Photo: Petra Cvelbar)
“One day, it just hit me — I wanted to record an album,” said clarinetist Harry Skoler, 18 months after a medical emergency sidetracked his music career.
(Photo: Francesco Gargiulli)
Bertoncini was a specialist and advocate for the nylon-string acoustic guitar, turning down high-profile opportunities that were unsuited to the sound and techniques that he used with that instrument.
(Photo: Courtesy the Bertoncini Family)
Seamus Blake has taken a deep dive into the music of Eddie Harris. “The more that I listened to him, the more I appreciated and recognized the diversity of his kind of talent.”
(Photo: Kate Izor)
“When we get together to play, to improvise, we’re just trying to make something fresh and all those influences and experiences that everybody has just comes out in a natural way,” says Jeff Parker of his ETA IVtet, from left, Josh Johnson, Jay Bellrose, Ana Butterss and Parker.
(Photo: Sam Lee)
The Music Of Randy Weston captures three 1980s performances.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
“I tried to make a CD that I would like to listen to myself, so that there would be no walls between me and the listener,” Clara Haberkamp says of Love Maps.
(Photo: Marcus Sternberg)
“The love from the jazz and music community restored my faith in humanity,” Walia wrote in an online post upon his release from detention at an ICE facility.
(Photo: Courtesy Pritesh Walia)
Oliver Jones’ debut album, Live At Biddle’s Jazz & Ribs, was recorded in 1983, the first release on the Montreal-based label Justin Time.
(Photo: Sharonne Cohen)
NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart was a fan favorite.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
Charles Lloyd and his Sky Quartet offered one of the fest’s most introspective sets.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
Flea, on tour in support of his solo album Honora, was among the Newport headliners.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
Nate Smith’s group showed how straightahead jazz continues to thrive at Newport.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
Sullivan Fortner was out to show a new slant on keyboards.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
Linda May Han Oh gave one of the most joyful performances at Newport.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
This year’s Reykjavík Jazz Festival runs Aug. 25–30 in Iceland’s Capital Region.
(Photo: Courtesy Reykjavík Jazz Festival)
Nicole Zuraitis performs at San Jose Jazz’s Summer Fest.
(Photo: Robert Birnbach)
On The Blues Is My Biography, Branch employs far-reaching roots to advance the blues process of observation, reportage, assertion, transcendence.
(Photo: Marc PoKempner)
Percussionist Poncho Sanchez was among the artists scheduled to perform at the now-canceled inaugural LA Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy ponchosanchez.com)
In 1993 Bryson signed to the Telarc Jazz label, which released her first album, I Love Being Here With You.
(Photo: Matthew Rolston/Telarc/DownBeat Archive)
Inspired by the sonic world of Bitches Brew, Dad Grass developed a flavor profile intended to feel lush, layered and slightly psychedelic.
(Photo: Courtesy Dad Grass)
Some of the boldest highlights at Molde arrived in the intimate quarters of improvised duets, including a morning concert in the park with esperanza spalding and Shabaka.
(Photo: Josef Woodard)
Jessica Molaskey and John Pizzarelli with Tony Bennett at their wedding reception in 1998.
(Photo: Courtesy John Pizzarelli)
“I’ve always wanted to make something bigger than just my own music and that can relate to my father’s legacy,” Ibrahim Maalouf says of playing his father’s invention, the four-valve trumpet.
(Photo: Arno Lam)
“I can talk from the perspective of other parents and what it would be like,” Monika Herzig notes of advocating for her transgender son through music. “So let me do that. That’s the voice I can share.”
(Photo: Sarah Slover)
Johnson provided the slithery, smoky sax lead on Henry Mancini’s theme for the 1963 Peter Sellers film The Pink Panther.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
“Jeff knows just what to play, how to construct drum fills around the arrangement,” Willie Jones III says of Jeff Hamilton. “Very musical.”
(Photo: Anna Yayskevich)
In 1955, Urtreger released a landmark recording among European interpretations of the bebop literature, René Urtreger Plays Bud Powell.
(Photo: Wikipedia)
Fun-loving progressive powers, mixed with kitschy and shiny space/myth age costumes, make the Cosmic Swing Orchestra both entertaining and envelope-pushing.
(Photo: Josef Woodard)
Laura Chavez’s My Voice is not a vocal album.
(Photo: Amy Brat)
Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
(Photo: Courtesy Meinl)
Vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant took her North Sea artist-in-residency as an opportunity to explore her fascination with early music.
(Photo: Josef Woodard)
Count Basie’s is the most-represented orchestra on the new Mosaic V-Disc set.
(Photo: DownBeat Archive)
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
(Photo: Clockwise from top left, by Elana Olivia, Courtesy Patricia Brennan, Steven Sussman, Courtesy ECM, Andy Freeberg, K. Gypsy Zaboroskie.)
“I think it’s rare to find an improviser that all goes and nothing has to go at all,” says Ambrose Akinmusire of Mary Halvorson.
(Photo: Elena Olivia)
The band from Patricia Brennan’s Album of the Year: from left, John Hollenbeck, Michael Nicolas, Modney, Pala Garcia, Kyle Armbrust, Brennan, Miles Okazaki, Sylvie Courvoisier, Kim Cass and Eli Greenhoe. Not pictured is Arktureye.
(Photo: Courtesy Patricia Brennan)
Sheila Jordan was one of the first vocalists to fully internalize the language of bebop and transform Charlie Parker’s pioneering musical ideas into a vocal art form all her own.
(Photo: Andy Freeberg)
Jaki Byard teaching at the Mark Levine Workshop in 1991. “He could crack jokes, but when he sat down, it was serious fun,” says pianist Fred Hersch, a former student.
(Photo: Gypsy Zaboroskie)
The critics choice for Historical Album of the Year is At The Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings.
(Photo: Courtesy ECM)
“I feel like most of my music is more classical music than jazz,” Adam O’Farrill says. It’s both and more.
(Photo: Steven Sussman)
“We have figured out our show, and people seem to be really connecting with it,” Emmet Cohen says of his band’s current tour, a tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. “The audiences are large and exuberant. It feels like we’re doing what we’re meant to be doing.”
(Photo: Kevin Alexander)
On the festival’s final night came a duo composed of two one-offs — guitarist Julian Lage and bassist Christian McBride.
(Photo: Victor Diaz Lamich)
Simon Moullier’s new album, Ceiba, features a cosmopolitan kaleidoscope of sonic influences.
(Photo: Shervin Lainez)
Viola artist Mat Manieri says DoYeon Kim’s approach to music is “at once delicate, and then punk rock — no fear.”
(Photo: Hyun Park)
“The greatest honor for me as a trumpet player is to have learned enough to know how great Louis Armstrong actually was,” said foundation president Wynton Marsalis, who spoke and performed at the gala.
(Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images (Courtesy of Louis Armstrong House Museum))
“The first time I was with him, I felt, ‘You must be on the right track to have people like this endorse you,’” Bobby Broom said of his mentor, the late Sonny Rollins.
(Photo: Sandy Morris)
“I really wanted to make a record that’s something you can, like, put in your car and drive and have a story,” says Dida Pelled.
(Photo: Dvir Kahlon)
Everything about pianist Ben Markley’s new large ensemble project feels classic.
(Photo: Courtesy Ben Markley)
DownBeat once described Vancouver’s Tony Wilson as “a talismanic West Coast figure.”
(Photo: Courtesy Bandcamp)
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
“I’ll always keep the jazz harmonic side in my music because I could never go all the way and be a straight smooth-jazz guy,” says Warren Wolf of his groove-oriented music.
(Photo: Roy Cox Jr.)
Michel Petrucciani breathes fire on 1987’s Kuumbwa.
(Photo: Deborah Feingold)
Ryan Porter
(Photo: Courtesy of the artist)
“I feel a little lost in our pop music world today where the art of melody has been lost,” says Steve Wilson. “Hopefully we can get that back.”
(Photo: Kevin Scanlon)
“I want to leave something for people to hear what the music is about and you can vibe with it in the car or wherever you’re at, which is awesome,” says Noah Jackson.
(Photo: Courtesy Noah Jackson)
When Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve show on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, it led to a national media firestorm.
(Photo: Courtesy Chuck Redd)
Music industry executive Clive Davis (right), shown here at a Grammy ceremony with Carlos Santana, championed the careers of pop stars and landmark jazz artists alike.
(Photo: Courtesy CliveDavis.com)
“There was something about her tone and sound and phrasing — an intimacy, a vulnerability, an honesty,” says Joshua Redman, who produced Cavassa’s record after she toured with his band.
(Photo: Roeg Cohen)
“I will always believe that all humans have the capacity to love unconditionally,” says bassist and activist David Ambrosio. “It’s our divine nature. We’ve just lost our way.”
(Photo: Courtesy David Ambrosio)
A changing of the guard, from left: Ellen Price, Darrian Douglas, Clara Winder and Mark Morganelli transition to keep Jazz Forum Arts on track.
(Photo: Courtesy Jazz Forum Arts)
Blank For.ms, Marcus Gilmore and Jason Moran discuss their new release, Shards.
(Photo: Anna Yatskevich)
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
(Photo: Courtesy of the Ulmer Family)
“We’re not just putting things out because we have to — it’s all music that we really enjoy listening to and people we really enjoy working with,” says Out of Your Head’s Scott Clark, left, with label partner Adam Hopkins.
(Photo: TJ Huff)
Bernhard he has chops to burn, but the quality of his writing indicates a fully rounded musician.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
“This is what I want to hear in guitar playing,” Anthony Wilson said of Ben Monder. “This is why we’re out here. It’s the reason of doing the whole thing. I bow down.”
(Photo: Brian Bixby)
“Forty years into this career, I have come back to myself, and I feel the same joy I did the first time I opened that sax case every time I play,” says Jesse Davis.
(Photo: William Brown)
“Kabir loves helping people create projects,” says composer Ted Nash.
(Photo: Courtesy Kabir Sehgal)
The 20-piece ensemble Fanfare Pourpour, which began life as a guerilla street band in Montreal in the ’70s, performs at this year’s FIMAV.
(Photo: Martin Morissette)
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
(Photo: Jack Vartoogian)
“The elders are very serious about making sure that the tradition of the music stays alive,” said Jordan Williams.
(Photo: Bruce Woods)
A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.
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The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
“It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”
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