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…
Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir (above) will collaborate with JFA Music Director Steve Jordan at this year’s “A Great Night in Harlem” gala concert.
(Photo: Courtesy Bob Weir)The Jazz Foundation of America will present its annual “A Great Night in Harlem” gala concert on March 28 at the Apollo Theater, featuring a night of jazz, blues, rock and more. Proceeds from the event benefit the JFA’s life-saving programs, which provide housing assistance, pro bono medical care, disaster relief, meaningful work and direct financial support to musicians and their families in times of crisis.
The evening will feature a collaboration between Bobby Weir (founding member of the Grateful Dead, Dead & Company and Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros) and JFA Musical Director Steve Jordan. Additionally, there will be a performance by the pioneers of Afrofuturism, the Sun Ra Arkestra, directed by 99-year-old Marshall Allen.
The gala will also feature a Max Roach Centennial Tribute led by trumpeter/composer Charles Tolliver and featuring fellow all-stars Dee Dee Bridgewater, Billy Harper, George Cables and Rufus Reid. The segment will include three masters of the drums — Al Foster, Billy Hart and Louis Hayes — who will be honored as Titans of Jazz.
The night will culminate with a special honor presented to business icon and JFA Chairman Emeritus Richard D. Parsons with JFA’s Dr. Billy Taylor Humanitarian Award for his leadership and service to JFA and musicians nationwide. This presentation will mark a leadership transition at JFA, with longtime JFA President Jarrett Lilien (WisdomTree) assuming the role of chairman following Parsons’ 15-year tenure, and dedicated board member Dr. Daveed D. Frazier becoming the president of JFA’s board of directors.
To buy tickets, purchase benefit packages or make a donation, click HERE. 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.
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…
