Like other city festivals, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival is looking a whole lot more like its old self.
After a hybrid in-person and streamed lineup the past two years, the 16th annual fest presents 34 free performances fully live and in-person at a dozen Hyde Park, Kenwood and Washington Park venues Sept. 24-25.
A festival-sponsored collaboration between the Ethiopian Qwanqwa ensemble and the American string collective Hear in Now — cofounded by cellist Tomeka Reid — was also a victim of the pandemic. This year, they perform together for the first time, with two sets at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts (3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Logan Performance Hall).
Saturday’s festivities wind down with a premiere by pianist Miguel de la Cerna, recipient of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival’s annual commissioning fund (9:30 p.m. at Logan Center Performance Hall), and a collaboration between singer Samara Joy and guitarist Pasquale Grasso (11 p.m. at Rockefeller Chapel).
Sunday’s lineup at Midway’s Wagner Stage celebrates Chicago stalwarts, with a performance by the Chicago Jazz Soul Collective and Dee Alexander, while sextets led by Orbert Davis and Victor Garcia bookend the festivities.
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Other highlights include a solo set by guitarist Jeff Parker (5 p.m. Sept. 24 at Augustana Lutheran Church), a visit by trumpeter Etienne Charles and his Creole Soul sextet, and bebop veteran Charles McPherson and his quintet.
There are multiple venues, but here is the complete lineup for the Wagner and West Stages, listed chronologically:
Saturday, Sept. 24
Lenard Simpson Quartet (1:30 p.m., Wagner Stage on the Midway)
Isaiah Spencer Quintet (2:30 p.m., West Stage on the Midway)
Ryan Cohan Quartet (3:45 p.m., Wagner Stage on the Midway)
Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues (5 p.m., West Stage on the Midway)
Camille Thurman & Darrell Green Quartet (6:15 p.m., Wagner Stage on the Midway)
Etienne Charles & Creole Soul (7:15 p.m., West Stage on the Midway)
Charles McPherson Quintet (8:15 p.m., Wagner Stage on the Midway)
DJ Sadie Woods (9:15 p.m., West Stage on the Midway)
Sunday, Sept. 25
Orbert Davis Sextet (2 p.m., Wagner Stage on the Midway)
Johnny Blas (3 p.m., West Stage on the Midway)
Chicago Jazz Soul Collective with Dee Alexander (4 p.m., Wagner Stage on the Midway)
Clif Wallace + Five (5 p.m., West Stage on the Midway)
Victor Garcia Sextet (6 p.m., Wagner Stage on the Midway)
Hyde Park Jazz Festival is Sept. 24-25; free, suggested donation is $10, more information at hydeparkjazzfestival.org
Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer.
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