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…
Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute has opened submissions for its second annual Bridges competition.
The David Baker Prize, named for the first RSMI jazz director, includes three $2,500 awards, as well as a chance to premiere the winning composition during Ravinia’s 2019 season.
The competition, open to composers between the ages of 18 and 30, is seeking original compositions, about 10 minutes in length, scored for string quartet (two violins, viola, and cello) and jazz rhythm section (piano, bass, drums). An additional melodic instrument can be added, but is not required.
“We were so impressed by the quality of all the submissions,” pianist Billy Childs, one of last year’s judges, said about previous entries.
Winners of the competition’s first installment were Sam Blakeslee, of Columbus, Ohio; Zach Bornheimer of Tampa, Florida; and Gene Knific of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Each winner received a prize of $2,500, and the works were given their world premieres in Ravinia’s Martin Theatre on June 9.
Deadline for entries is Feb. 1. For full submissions guidelines, visit the Ravinia 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.”
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Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
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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…
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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…
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The 2027 DownBeat College Guide is an invaluable resource for music students, especially jazz students, to find a school…
