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…
Craig Taborn joins recent jazz-musician MacArthur Fellows Tomeka Reid (2022), Cécile McLorin Salvant (2020), Mary Halvorson (2019) and Tyshawn Sorey (2017).
(Photo: Courtesy John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)Pianist, keyboardist and composer Craig Taborn has received many accolades over his 30-plus-year career, but none quite so lucrative as his latest. Taborn, 55, is one of the names on the list of 2025 MacArthur Fellows.
Often called a “genius grant,” the fellowship is a prestigious award of $800,000 given annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to scientists, artists and others as an investment in their potential. In the foundation’s words, the cash award goes to “extraordinarily talented and creative individuals.”
“In performances and recordings as a soloist, bandleader and sideman, Taborn brings a fearless and sophisticated approach to music making,” the foundation said in a statement announcing his fellowship. “He draws from musical traditions as varied as traditional and contemporary jazz, contemporary classical, experimental, electronic, rock, metal and hip-hop. His constant exploration of genre and style informs his own distinct musical intelligence and voice.”
Taborn is one of 22 new fellows announced for 2025 and the only musician in the new class. He joins such recent jazz-musician fellows as Tomeka Reid (2022), Cécile McLorin Salvant (2020), Mary Halvorson (2019) and Tyshawn Sorey (2017).
He is currently preparing for a European tour in November. Taborn is also a member (with guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Marcus Gilmore) of Trio of Bloom, whose self-titled album was released on Sept. 26 by Pyroclastic Records. Trio of Bloom is featured in the November issue of DownBeat. 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.”
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