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…
Billy Childs will release a new album for Mack Avenue Records on March 24.
(Photo: Courtesy of the artist)Mack Avenue Records has announced the addition of three major artists to its roster: keyboardist Cameron Graves, organist Joey DeFrancesco and composer/pianist Billy Childs, each of whom is scheduled to release an album in early 2017.
Graves—West Coast Get Down founding member and frequent Kamasi Washington collaborator—will launch his anticipated debut album, Planetary Prince, with Mack Avenue Records on Feb. 24. The album, an expansion of a four-song EP, features numerous West Coast Get Down regulars, including saxophonist Washington, trumpeter Philip Dizack, trombonist Ryan Porter, bassist Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, bassist Hadrien Feraud and drummer Ronald Bruner, Jr.
Organist Joey DeFrancesco, who also plays trumpet and sings, will debut his first-ever quartet, Joey DeFrancesco & The People, with the release of Project Freedom on March 10. The new ensemble features guitarist Dan Wilson, saxophonist Troy Roberts and drummer Jason Brown. A tour in support of the album is planned.
Four-time Grammy Award winner Billy Childs returns to his jazz roots with the March 24 release of Rebirth. Joined by saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Eric Harland—along with guests such as vocalists Alicia Olatuja and Claudia Acuna, trombonist Ido Meshulam and percussionist Rogerio Boccato—the album serves as a career retrospective and marks the 40th anniversary of Childs’ recording debut with trombone legend J.J. Johnson.
In April 2016 Mack Avenue Records acquired the St. Louis-based jazz imprint MAXJAZZ, expanding its roster to include such notable musicians as Mulgrew Miller, René Marie, Russell Malone and Geoffrey Keezer. For more information on the label’s website. 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.
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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…
