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…
Ava Preston, a 12-time DownBeat Student Music Award winner, is currently pursuing her master’s degree in jazz voice at Juilliard.
(Photo: Courtesy Ava Preston)Ava Preston, from Cleveland, Ohio, was named the winner of the ninth annual Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition on April 25, according to presenting organization Blues Alley Jazz. A 21-year-old vocalist with expansive experience in all genres of jazz, Preston is a 12-time DownBeat magazine Student Music Award winner. She has performed at a variety of prestigious venues and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in jazz voice at The Juilliard School in Manhattan.
Preston, who was awarded the top prize of $2,500, was one of five finalists who were winnowed from a pool of global entries. This year’s two celebrity judges were Nnenna Freelon (singer, composer, producer, arranger and educator) and Sachal Vasandani (singer, songwriter, composer and educator).
The other finalists were 2nd-place winner ($1,000 honorarium) Kyra Cioffi of Rutherford, New Jersey, and 3rd-place winners ($500 honorariums) Gabriela Allemana of Chicago, Lily Alter of Oak Park, Illinois, and Emily Davies of Buffalo, New York.
This year’s theme was “Ella Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook,” with each song chosen from the Verve and Pablo recording catalogs. Washington, D.C.-based Blues Alley will be inviting all five finalists to perform in April 2027. The invitation will help Blues Alley codify its education and performance programming, as the organization cultivates, mentors and presents the next generation of vocal jazz artists. The next competition opens on Nov. 1, with additional details to follow. To donate to the non-profit Blues Alley Jazz Society’s music education programming, visit bluesalley.org or ellafitzgeraldcompetition.org. DB
A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.
Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
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.”
Sep 22, 2026 1:39 PM
Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.
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As emcee Mark Ruffin noted at the commencement of an epic tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins at the Cathedral of Saint…
Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.
Sep 8, 2026 11:52 AM
It began in 2001. A travel agent named Anita E. Berry had been booking clients on “partial” jazz cruises that took…
Sep 17, 2026 11:00 AM
The 2027 DownBeat College Guide is an invaluable resource for music students, especially jazz students, to find a school…
