First, the good news. The Chicago Jazz Festival, perpetually dwarfed by bigger and better programmed counterparts across North America, this year will tip its hat to three formidable musical innovators.
Thus, in a single weekend, listeners can celebrate the centennials of composer-bandleader Duke Ellington, songwriter Hoagy Carmichael and gospel pioneer Thomas A. Dorsey.
As usual with this festival, however, there are caveats. The homage to Carmichael, a brilliant tunesmith with deep ties to Chicago jazz, has been consigned to the smaller Jazz on Jackson stage (1:05 p.m. Sept. 4), where sound reproduction is often shrill. And the tribute to Dorsey, though booked for the Petrillo Music Shell (6 p.m. Sept. 3), has been given a 10-minute slot — not exactly generous. The entire Sept. 5 Petrillo Music Shell program, however, will be devoted to Ellington, with Anthony Brown’s exceptional Asian American Jazz Orchestra performing the Ellington-Strayhorn “Far East Suite.”
Apart from the centennial tributes, the festival this year offers the by-now familiar mix of strong and substandard programming (planned by the not-for-profit Jazz Institute of Chicago and the Mayor’s Office of Special Events). Of special interest are Chick Corea’s Origin with guest vibist Gary Burton (7:10 p.m. Sept. 2); the Sam Rivers Orchestra with innovators Ray Anderson on trombone and Hamiet Bluiett on baritone saxophone (7:05 p.m. Sept. 4); and pianist Danilo Perez unveiling a new work commissioned for the festival (8:20 p.m. Sept. 4).
As always, evening events are at the Petrillo Music Shell, at Columbus Drive and Jackson Boulevard; daytime sets at the Jazz on Jackson stage, nearby. All the performances are free.
Because the quality of sound reproduction can vary, perhaps the best way to hear the Petrillo Music Shell shows is to listen on headphones to the live broadcasts on WBEZ 91.5 FM. For information on the Chicago Jazz Festival, phone 312-744-3315.
Also worth noting is the annual Jazz Club Tour, from 6 to 11:30 p.m. Sept. 1. Sponsored by the Jazz Institute, this year’s tour will offer bus transportation to and from such clubs as Buddy Guy’s Legends, Andy’s, Green Mill Jazz Club, Jazz Showcase, Joe’s Bebop Cafe and Jazz Emporium, Green Dolphin Street, Velvet Lounge, Cotton Club, Back Room, Pops for Champagne, HotHouse, Some Like It Black Coffee Club and Club Alphonse. For more information, phone the Jazz Institute at 312-427-1676.
Sept. 2
Petrillo Music Shell
6 p.m. — Henry Johnson Quartet. Best known for his work with pianist Ramsey Lewis, Johnson is a deft guitarist who will be joined by drummer Ernie Adams (also from Lewis’ band), Chicago bassist Larry Gray and pianist Norman Simmons, who long accompanied singer Joe Williams.
7:10 p.m. — Chick Corea and Origin with Gary Burton. Corea’s new Origin band turned in considerably better work on the stage of Orchestra Hall earlier this year than their recordings had led one to expect. Burton’s presence on vibes should make matters even more interesting.
8:20 p.m. — Count Basie Orchestra, directed by Grover Mitchell. This may be the only swing band that carries not only the name of its fallen leader but also a hint of the old fire.
Sept. 3
Petrillo Music Shell
6 p.m. — Tribute to Thomas A. Dorsey by Maggie Brown. In recent years, Brown has emerged as commanding vocalist and song interpreter, and her homage to Chicago gospel legend Dorsey is welcome in the composer’s centennial year.
6:15 p.m. — George Freeman Trio, with Chris Foreman. Freeman may be most widely known as brother of tenor saxophone master Von Freeman, but Vonski’s sibling long has been an innovative and technically fluent improviser in his own right. Foreman’s soulful organ playing is always worth hearing.
7:15 p.m. — John Zorn’s Masada. A rare taste of avant-garde musicmaking in an otherwise conservative mainstage lineup.
8:20 p.m. — Legends, with Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Griffin and Phil Woods. Granted, pianist Flanagan, tenor saxophonist Griffin and altoist Woods rank as legends, but will they be as formidable together as each is alone?
Sept. 4
Jazz on Jackson stage
Noon — Marlene Rosenberg Quartet. Fresh from graduate study at Northwestern University, the versatile Chicago bassist is likely to perform an array of new compositions she penned at NU.
1:05 p.m. — Tribute to Hoagy Carmichael. Singer Cori Jamison will do the vocal honors; her work in this realm is so impressive that she should have been given a slot on the Petrillo Music Shell.
2:10 p.m. — Barrelhouse Chuck.
2:40 p.m.– Stu Katz. His clients call him for legal advice, but attorney Katz happens to be one of the finest piano soloists working in classic bebop forms.
3:20 p.m.– Frank Catalano Trio with Von Freeman. Catalano is a young powerhouse representing a new generation of Chicago tenormen; Freeman is a revered master who plays best when challenged by young lions.
Children’s stage
1 p.m. — Jackie Allen: “Scat Workshop.”
2 p.m. — Kuntu Drama Ensemble: “African Stories and Chants.”
3 p.m. — Douglas Ewart: “Percussion.”
Petrillo Music Shell
5 p.m. — Combs/Novak Septet. Here’s a bona fide Chicago all-star band, with Larry Combs’ clarinet, Larry Novak’s piano, Bobby Lewis’ trumpet and Paul McKee’s trombone. Add Duane Thamm’s vibes, Larry Gray’s bass and Charlie Braugham’s drums, and you have mainstream jazz at its best.
6 p.m. — Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. From San Francisco, this organization bills itself as “one of the top swing and jump blues bands in the country.”
7:05 p.m. — Sam Rivers Orchestra, with guests Ray Anderson and Hamiet Bluiett. This could be one of the more interesting appearances of the festival, the innovative saxophonist-composer-
bandleader sharing the stage with two fellow iconoclasts, trombone wildman Anderson and baritone saxophone experimenter Bluiett.
8:20 p.m. — Danilo Perez Trio with guests. Perez, a phenomenally sensitive pianist who brings various Latin currents into the jazz vernacular, will premiere a new work commissioned for the festival. Earlier this year, he spent a few days club-hopping in Chicago in order to better write a piece for and about the city. Here’s hoping he succeeds.
Sept. 5
Jazz on Jackson stage
Noon — “Beltway to Bronzeville,” by Ernest Dawkins, with Gallery 37 Jazz Band. Dawkins, a longtime member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), unveiled this work earlier this summer and reprises it here.
1:05 p.m. — Joanie Pallatto Quartet. The singer has been a positive force for jazz in Chicago, producing dozens of recordings for Southport, the label she owns with her husband, pianist Bradley Parker-Sparrow.
2:05 p.m. — Hamiet Bluiett, Ray Anderson and DKV Trio. Reedist Ken Vandermark won a MacArthur “genius” grant earlier this year, but he never has been given a Jazz Festival slot at the Petrillo Music Shell. So listeners will have to settle for hearing him at the Jazz on Jackson stage, in a potentially explosive set with his DKV Trio and guests Bluiett and Anderson.
3:20 p.m. — Sir Roland Hanna and Rufus Reid play Ellington. Pianist Hanna is one of the finest Ellington interpreters in jazz; bassist Reid is persuasive in virtually anything he plays.
Children’s stage
1 p.m. — Free Street Theater, “Afro-Cuban/Brazilian Influences.”
2 p.m. — Maggie Brown, “Legacy: Our Wealth of Music”
3 p.m. — Howard Levy, “History of the Harmonica.”
Petrillo Music Shell
5 p.m. — Fletcher Basington Orchestra with Herb Jeffries. The Fletcher Basington Orchestra may not be the most proficient big band in town, but the appearance of octogenarian former Ellington vocalist Jeffries makes this set worth catching.
6 p.m. — The Duke’s Men, with Britt Woodman. A small-ensemble tribute to Ellington, featuring trombonist Woodman and other Ellington veterans.
7:05 p.m. — Marian McPartland Trio with guests Willie Pickens, Judy Roberts and Jodie Christian. Pianophiles should be in heaven with the work of McPartland and her three formidable Chicago guests.
8:30 p.m. — Asian American Jazz Orchestra performing Ellington-Strayhorn’s “Far East Suite.” The finale of the festival will be a major tribute to Ellington, with Anthony Brown’s first-rate Asian American Jazz Orchestra taking on the “Far East Suite.” Will Brown’s Asian-American perspective offer insights into this score?
