Jazz Fest review: Freddy Cole evokes sweet memories of brother Nat King Cole
When you're nearly 88 years old and brought to the piano in a wheelchair, it takes guts to put on a show. But that's what the intrepid singer-pianist Freddy Cole...
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What not to miss as Jazz Fest gets into full swing this weekend
For jazz lovers, it's the greatest weekend of the year: music day and night at Millennium Park and in clubs across the city. The 41st annual Chicago Jazz Festival, culminating...
Ravinia review: A buoyant revival of Bernstein’s ‘Trouble in Tahiti’
Few cultural institutions have done more to celebrate last year's Leonard Bernstein centennial than the Ravinia Festival, which boldly expanded its homage into the current season. In effect, Ravinia has...
Chicago jazz masters take a bow at 41st annual Jazz Festival
One of the charms of the Chicago Jazz Festival – dating to its inception in 1979 – has been the spotlight it aims at Chicago musicians. For while out-of-town stars...
Lead up to the 41st Chicago Jazz Festival begins this weekend with Neighborhood Concerts
Though the downtown events at the 41st annual Chicago Jazz Festival run Aug. 29 through Sept. 1 in Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center, a series of Neighborhood Concerts...
Classical reviews: Perlman’s triumph at Ravinia; Grant Park’s disappointing finale
Fifty-three years ago this month, violinist Itzhak Perlman made his Ravinia Festival debut performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. On Saturday evening, he returned the venue, which he has played often,...
Before his Ravinia show, Michael Feinstein talks about his ever-expanding reach of art and advocacy
Has anyone done more to champion classic American songwriting in recent decades than Michael Feinstein? True, nonagenarian singer Tony Bennett reaches enormous audiences around the world via tours and recordings,...
Itzhak Perlman will pick up violin and baton at Ravinia
Violinist Itzhak Perlman has been a consummate virtuoso and superb interpreter of the standard repertory for more than half a century, and he seems incapable of wearing out his welcome....
Shanghai Symphony brings 140-year tradition to America
When the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra makes its Chicago-area debut Aug. 16 at the Ravinia Festival, no one will be prouder of the occasion than its music director, Long Yu. For...
Herbie Hancock gears up for his newest music and joins Kamasi Washington at Northerly Island
Next year, Herbie Hancock will turn 80. Think about that: A musician who to this day personifies youth and energy, an intrepid experimenter who still tirelessly tours the globe, will...