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…
Born Feb. 5, 1934, in Indianola, Miss., Arthur moved to Chicago at age 16, where he heard and befriended Little Walter, who inspired him to take up the harmonica. While holding down a construction day job, he began performing around Chicago with John Brim, Floyd Jones, and Hip Lankchan. He would later own and operate the Artesia Lounge on Lake Street, which moved to West Madison Street and reopened as Backscratcher's Social Club. Owning a club gave Arthur a regular place to perform, and he became a popular neighborhood attraction on the West Side. Twist Turner produced some of Arthur's first recordings, which appeared first on cassette and then on Cannonball Records' Blues Across America series.
As Arthur's stature grew in Chicago, he recorded more, cutting two CDs for Delmark (Singin' With The Sun and Live At Rosa's Blues Lounge
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…
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