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Playlist Chicago Jazz Festival

Chicago Jazz Festival

John Coltrane plays saxophone in front of a mic with a black background in 1965

Revisiting a Superstar-Packed Predecessor to Chicago's Jazz Festival

Daniel Hautzinger

The Chicago Jazz Festival has been bringing outstanding musicians to the lakefront for over forty years, but before it, in 1965, DownBeat magazine hosted a festival at Soldier Field with the likes of John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Muddy Waters.
The Chicago Jazz Festival at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion. Photo: Courtesy of City of Chicago

Centennials Galore at the Chicago Jazz Festival

Daniel Hautzinger

The free Chicago Jazz Festival, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, celebrates the centennials of Dizzy, Ella, and Monk this year – but it also features creative new projects. Dee Alexander, a performer in the Fest, and Neil Tesser, an organizer, discuss the programming with us.
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