Music

Fascinatin' Rhythms on Chicago's South Side

If there’s one thing that was embarrassingly clear three years ago, it was that the Chicago Jazz Festival only made Chicago jazz fans more aware of all the non-jazzy days ahead of them.  Wanting to alleviate some of that burden, the art community of a south side neighborhood stepped in and scratched that improvisational itch with the Hyde Park Jazz Festival.

“The original idea…was to use jazz and its deep connection to the south side of Chicago as a means to bring people to Hyde Park and get to know our community,” Lauren Moltz, co-chair of the festival, explained.  The festival, which takes place largely on the University of Chicago campus, is a combined effort of the Hyde Park Cultural Alliance for Arts and Culture, The University of Chicago, and the Hyde Park Jazz Society. 

“Hyde Park comes alive,” said Moltz.  Which is exactly what the creators of the festival wanted.  In its three little years, the crowd at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival has grown exponentially (5,000 in 2007; 15,000 in 2008; and 30,000 this year).

Indeed, the festival grounds were abuzz that Saturday.  Kicking off this year was Ken Cheney's Awakening, an ensemble six men strong.  Even on a dreary Saturday morning, they played to a houseful of bobbing heads.

While Ken Cheney's Awakening played the kind of smooth, brassy jazz that most people associate with the genre (and Bill Cosby), it was not representative of the day’s performances by any means.  In fact, the festival was a global smorgasbord of jazz.  The music of The Myumi Project, headed by bassist Tatsu Aoki, moved between East and West and Outer Space, proving it just takes a little swagger to turn any instrument into a jazz instrument.  The Edwin Sanchez Latin Band brought out the dance in a good portion of the crowd.

Other performances, totaling 15 hours of free music, included the Ernie Adams 4tet, Tammy McCann, Willie Pickens, and Kevin Nabors.  A “preview” Friday-night performance by Cassandra Wilson kicked off the event.

Watch the video for highlights of the performances and to hear more about what the Hyde Park Jazz Festival is looking to for the future.