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…
Dee Alexander performs at the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative concert in Chicago on March 10. (Photo: Lauren Deutsch)
(Photo: )March is national Women’s History Month. It’s an occasion to commemorate the role of women in the political, cultural and scientific history of the United States, as well as to honor the innovations and pioneering spirit of trailblazing women around the world. That sense of purpose was on full display at a recent concert in Chicago, where the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative, a free program focusing on dialog, connection and musical exchange between professional women musicians, produced a star-studded event featuring some of the city’s best female artists.
Held at the Garfield Park Conservatory and produced in part by the Jazz Institute of Chicago, the concert coincided with the centennial anniversaries of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron and Lena Horne, and included numerous tributes to these groundbreaking musicians.
The performers on hand to pay homage included a host of Chicago treasures, including vocalist Dee Alexander, cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Marion Hayden and drummer Gayelynn McKinney (who together formed the Chicago-Detroit Collective), as well as members of the SHE sextet, a dynamic ensemble spearheaded by former Chicago Jazz Orchestra members Bobbi Wilsyn (vocals), Deanna Witkowski (piano) and Audrey Morrison (trombone).
Below is a series of photos from the concert that capture the overwhelming sense of pride in this momentous occasion. For more information on the Jazz Institute of Chicago Women’s Leadership Initiative, visit www.jazzinchicago.org. DB
Anastasiya Kadukov (center) performs with her quartet at the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative concert in Chicago. (Photo: Courtesy of the Jazz Institute of Chicago)
Tomeka Reid (Photo: Courtesy of the Jazz Institute of Chicago)
Gayelynn McKinney (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
,_Marlene_Rosenberg_(b),_Bobbi_Wilsyn_(v),_Sarah_Allen_(d),_Juli_wood,_(s)_Audrey_Morrison_(t)_WEB.jpg)
Kelly Brand (left), Marlene Rosenberg, Bobbi Wilsyn, Sarah Allen, Juli Wood and Audrey Morrison of the SHE sextet. (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
Bobbi Wilsyn (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
Marion Haden (left), Dee Alexander, Gayelynn McKinney and Tomeka Reid of the Chicago-Detroit Collective. (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory, home of the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative concert. (Photo: Courtesy of the Jazz Institute of Chicago)
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…
