Programming announced for virtual Chicago Jazz, World Music festivals
Programming for the 2020 “Millennium Park at Home: Chicago Jazz” series and the “Virtual World Music Festival Chicago” was announced Thursday by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
“Millennium Park at Home: Chicago Jazz” will be serving up four days of free online performances — newly recorded, produced and programmed in conjunction with the Jazz Institute of Chicago — from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 3-6. The series will also feature archival footage from previous festivals, including sets by Orbert Davis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Von Freeman and Clifford Jordan, Sun Ra Arkestra and the Ari Brown Quintet, among others.
The “Virtual World Music Festival Chicago” includes a series of free concerts featuring artists from around the globe from 1-3 p.m. every Sunday in September as part of World Music Month 2020.
“Music has long been our universal language and the common thread that ties people together across culture, time, and now, more than ever, physical distance,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “These creative renditions of this year’s Jazz and World Music events will provide ways for people to enjoy the spirit of a Chicago festival season while prioritizing health and safety. As the birthplace of gospel and house music, electric blues and modern jazz, Chicago’s sounds and melodies reflect the diversity and dynamism of the people and communities we all call home.”
Streaming for both festivals will be available atYou Tube.com/ChicagoDCASE.
Jazz Series highlights
Thursday, Sept. 3: Live the Spirit Residency presents: The Young Masters directed by Ernest Dawkins; Birdhouse presents: Mai Sugimoto Trio at Fred Anderson Park
Friday, Sept. 4: AACM presents Tribute to Black Lives Matter; The South Side Jazz Coalition presents The Denise Thimes Quartet; Public Media Institute presents Preservation of Fire
Saturday, Sept. 5: Kalapriya Foundation presents Anjali Ray; MCA Tuesday on the Terrace presents Isaiah Collier and The Chosen Few; Constellation presents Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things; Reggie Thomas and Trio Nexus
Sunday, Sep 6: The Hungry Brain presents the Josh Berman Quartet; 51st Street Business Association presents Bronzeville Jazz; The Jazz Showcase presents Dee Alexander
World Music Festival highlights
Sunday, Sept. 6: “Ragamala,” the annual celebration
of Indian classical music programmed with People of Rhythm, recorded at the Chicago Cultural Center; includes a centennial tribute to Ravi Shankar.
Sunday, Sept. 13:
Afro-Diáspora y Folklore: programmed with and recorded at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center; Chicago-based groups celebrate the Afro-Latin folkloric musical traditions of some of the city’s Latin American communities.
Sunday, Sept. 20:
Anam Mór: programmed with and recorded at Martyrs’; the Chicagobased traditional Irish supergroup led by master percussionist Jackie Moran features Laurence Nugent, Brendan Bulger and Jesse Langen.
Sunday, September
27: Chicago Immigrant Orchestra: recorded at Epiphany Center for the Arts; Fareed Haque and Wanees Zarour coconduct a global lineup of Chicago-based artists.
The complete lineup for the jazz series is available at MillenniumPark.org; the lineup for World Music Fest enthusiasts is available at WorldMusic