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…
Ron Carter will serve as artist-in-residence of the 2016 Detroit Jazz Festival, which takes place Sept. 2–5 in downtown Detroit. (Photo: Fortuna Sung)
(Photo: )Guitarist George Benson, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, pianist Randy Weston, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and saxophonist Chris Potter are also scheduled to perform at the event, which will feature hundreds of additional musicians across four stages in downtown Detroit.
The festival, celebrating its 37th year, will once again host its annual jazz competition, which serves to highlight up-and-coming talent. This year’s contest, The 2016 Detroit Jazz Festival Ron Carter National Bass Competition, is open to bassists 35 years of age or younger.
Contestants will submit recordings to festival judges, who will evaluate the submissions based on artistic excellence, creativity, group interaction, originality, familiarity with the jazz vocabulary and stylistic continuity. The winning applicant will receive a performance slot at the festival and monetary prizes. (Applications must be submitted by June 25. Prospective contestants can learn more here.)
Over the decades, the festival has established a reputation for presenting a diverse array of musicians and styles. Carter will perform in a variety of settings. Other 2016 Homecoming Series Performances include shows by Benson; the Jason Moran Bandwagon Trio; a trio featuring guitarist John Scofield, pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Mark Guiliana; and vocalist Freddy Cole and the Detroit Jazz Festival String Orchestra in a tribute to the singer’s family members Nat “King” Cole (1919–’65) and Natalie Cole (1950–2015).
Also in the festival lineup are pianist Omar Sosa’s Quarteto AfroCubano; vocalist Roberta Gambarini in a duo with saxophonist Jimmy Heath; vocalist Luciana Souza; the John Abercrombie Organ Trio; the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra; harmonica player Grégoire Maret; vocalist Charnée Wade; and drummer Herlin Riley.
To see the full lineup, visit detroitjazzfest.com.
To read a review of the Mack Avenue Superband’s album Live From The Detroit Jazz Festival–2015, click here.
—Brian Zimmerman
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.
Oct 6, 2026 1:33 PM
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…
