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…
Produced in state-of-the-art HDTV and Dolby Surround 5.1 audio, the series is unique in combining live performance, intimate conversation and archival material to provide a fascinating and entertaining first-hand accounting of some of the most memorable moments in jazz.
The PBS series premieres with Legends of Jazz: The Jazz Masters, sponsored by Verizon and the National Endowment for the Arts. The historic hour-long special spotlights five recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters award, the highest national honor in this art form, presented annually since 1982. The celebrated guests are vocalist Nancy Wilson (NEA Jazz Master 2004); saxophonist James Moody (1998); vocalist Jon Hendricks (1993); Latin jazz artist Paquito D’Rivera (2005); and Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein (2005). In addition, teen jazz vocal sensation Renee Olstead, who made her major label debut in 2004, appears as a special guest, providing a counterpoint to the established jazz superstars on the program.
“One of the most important reasons for me doing this series aside from the pure entertainment value -- is to document and archive this incredible wealth of experience,” said Lewis, a three-time Grammy Award winner and host of the popular Legends of Jazz nationally syndicated radio program, heard by more than 5 million listeners each week. “It’s an incredible feeling listening to great artists like Nancy, Moody, Jon, Paquito and so many others as they recount their memories and speak about their influences. These people, and those legends who came before them, are jazz, and so it really is like being treated to an oral history of the genre.”
Larry Rosen, co-chairman of LRSmedia and creator and executiveproducer of Legends of Jazz, said, “This series not only serves to pay homage to the established legends of jazz, but also provides a national platform for audiences to be exposed to new, exciting young artists who are building upon the legacy of these greats. Now, for the first time in nearly 40 years, we are bringing jazz back to U.S. network television, and we are doing it with HDTV and 5.1 Surround production technology.”
Legends of Jazz is co-produced by LRSmedia and WTTW National Productions, the award-winning PBS affiliate in Chicago. Hosted by Lewis, each weekly episode features a guest star performing several numbers with Ramsey and his trio. In between these informal performances, Ramsey and his guest artist chat casually about topics related to the show’s theme. Weekly episodes will focus on a single instrument, style or element of jazz.
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…
