Of all the jazz musicians to emerge from Young Lion U. in the early 1990s, none has sustained a big-time career more impressively than Hargrove. The Dallas native, now 40 – can it be? – could have coasted on his laurels. But he has refused to sit still artistically, exposing himself to new influences and performing in new settings. With his band Crisol, he partook of Afro-Cuban music. Hi RH Factor dabbled in funk and hip-hop, engaging such standout guest vocalists as Erykah Badu, Common and D’Angelo. Then there was the Directions in Music album and tour with Herbie Hancock and the late Michael Brecker, and his Emergence big band. In small doses, on tunes like “September in the Rain,” Hargrove sings.

Ultimately, however, as demonstrated on his acclaimed 2008 quintet album, Ear Food, it is in the fast lane of bop that Hargrove maneuvers most impressively – on smartly chosen classics and originals, on burners and ballads. Boasting a sound that is more bracing now than ever, he’ll be in the driver’s seat tonight with alto saxophonist Justin Robinson, pianist Sullivan Fortner, bassist Ameen Saleem and drummer Montez Coleman. Thus will the festival climax this year: full speed ahead.

As she demonstrated with her recent masterpiece of standards, Loverly, Wilson remains committed to the jazz repertory. But whether dusting off “The Very Thought of You” or channeling the blues of “Dust My Broom,” she brings out striking shades of emotion with her husky, free-floating, luxuriantly unhurried vocals. Wilson is a conjurer and shaper of moods, an artist who is as well-suited to interpreting the Miles Davis songbook, as she did on her album Traveling Miles, as trading vocals with R&B star John Legend, which she did on her most recent effort, Silver Pony.

Wilson, who usually performs barefoot, brings that same naturalistic approach to her band, which is there less to accompany her than to bond with her using its seductive rhythms and cool textures. With the exception of New Orleans-schooled pianist Jon Cowherd (who co-founded the Brian Blade Fellowship and has backed jazz-gospel singer LIzz Wright), Wilson’s band is one of longtime associates: the extraordinary guitarist Marvin Sewell, a Chicago native; bassist Reginald Veal; drummer Herlin Riley, and harmonica player Gregoire Maret.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Petrillo Music Shell
Cassandra Wilson
8:30 – 9:30 pm

As he demonstrated on pianist Steve Kuhn’s exceptional 2009 album, Mostly Coltrane, Lovano has deeply absorbed the Trane influence. Perhaps the most warmly embraced jazz musician of his generation, he seemingly can do no wrong. On his latest album, Bird Songs, he pays glowing personal tribute to Charlie Parker. His previous efforts include a brilliant collection of Frank Sinatra songs, unforgettable encounters with the late pianist Hank Jones and Third Stream music done to a T.

Liebman has been one of the foremost Coltrane authorities and advocates for many years, never going long without interpreting one of his compositions or showing off a Coltrane-ish intensity on soprano and tenor saxophone. Ravi Coltrane, who joined Saxophone Summit following the death of charter member Michael Brecker, has developed a sly, mellifluous style very different from but still rooted in his father’s music. No less committed to the band’s priestly role model is its rhythm section: pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, David Liebman and Ravi Coltrane
8:00 – 9:30 pm

Mike Reed

Mike Reed’s Myth Science Assembly premiered at the Chicago Jazz Festival on Sept 4 2011–with Reed and vibist Jason Adasiewicz rearranging the intentions of a found fragment of the interstellar composer/ arranger Sun Ra’s unfinished work   With Reed and Tomas Fujiwara on drums,  Tomeka Red on cello, Josh Abrams on bass, Greg Ward and Ingrid Laubrock on saxophones, Taylor Ho Bynum on trumpet, Mary Halverson on guitar and Nick Butcher on electronics.

Of all the jazz musicians to emerge from Young Lion U. in the early 1990s, none has sustained a big-time career more impressively than Hargrove. The Dallas native, now 40 – can it be? – could have coasted on his laurels. But he has refused to sit still artistically, exposing himself to new influences and performing in new settings. With his band Crisol, he partook of Afro-Cuban music. Hi RH Factor dabbled in funk and hip-hop, engaging such standout guest vocalists as Erykah Badu, Common and D’Angelo. Then there was the Directions in Music album and tour with Herbie Hancock and the late Michael Brecker, and his Emergence big band. In small doses, on tunes like “September in the Rain,” Hargrove sings.

Ultimately, however, as demonstrated on his acclaimed 2008 quintet album, Ear Food, it is in the fast lane of bop that Hargrove maneuvers most impressively – on smartly chosen classics and originals, on burners and ballads. Boasting a sound that is more bracing now than ever, he’ll be in the driver’s seat tonight with alto saxophonist Justin Robinson, pianist Sullivan Fortner, bassist Ameen Saleem and drummer Montez Coleman. Thus will the festival climax this year: full speed ahead.

The ensemble will include Stewart Miller, bass; Mikel Avery, drums; Sarah Allen, percussion; Talia Pavia and Sylvia de la Cerna, violins; Lynn La Plante, viola; Ann Griffin, cello; Nicole Mitchell, flutes; Amy Barwa, oboe; Anna Najoom, clarinet; Mike Saltr, bass clarinet; Steve Eisen, tenor saxophone; David Spencer, trumpet; Henry Salgado, trombone; Beth Mazur-Johnson, French horn, and Charlie Schuchat, tuba.

Tenor saxophone trios, once limited to visionaries like Sonny Rollins, are now fairly common in jazz. But you don’t often encounter a trumpet trio – especially one that will go from a Charlie Parker classic to a Gershwin prelude to Thad Jones’ “A Child is Born.” That’s what’s on the menu Friday for the Orbert Davis Trio, featuring Chicago native Brandon McCune (musical director for singer Nnenna Freelon) on piano and Stewart Miller on bass. Davis modeled the jazz arrangements after the duets Oscar Peterson recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Harry Sweets Edison, Roy Eldridge and Jon Faddis. The classical component is pure Orbert, this year’s Artist-in-Residence.

Each summer, the University of Illinois Chicago and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic co-administer a two-week jazz camp, the Jazz Academy, at which high school and elementary school students get to play with and learn from a special assortment of jazz pros including Artist-in-Residence Orbert Davis. In addition to band studies, the students are offered classes in jazz history and jazz aesthetics. Today, students selected from the just-completed session of the Jazz Academy will get to perform with a cast of pros headed by Davis and including violinist Zach Brock. It’ll be one of the more entertaining all-star events of the summer.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Roosevelt University – Ganz Hall
Orbert Davis Trio
5:00 pm

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Petrillo Music Shell
Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble
7:10 – 8:10 pm

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
The Chicago Community Trust Young Jazz Lions Stage
Orbert Davis’ Jazz Academy
3:20 – 4:00 pm

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Grant Park, Jazz on Jackson Stage
Orbert Davis’ Quintet with Ryan Cohan,
Ari Brown, Stewart Miller and Ernie Adams
1:10 – 2:05 pm

The ensemble will include Stewart Miller, bass; Mikel Avery, drums; Sarah Allen, percussion; Talia Pavia and Sylvia de la Cerna, violins; Lynn La Plante, viola; Ann Griffin, cello; Nicole Mitchell, flutes; Amy Barwa, oboe; Anna Najoom, clarinet; Mike Saltr, bass clarinet; Steve Eisen, tenor saxophone; David Spencer, trumpet; Henry Salgado, trombone; Beth Mazur-Johnson, French horn, and Charlie Schuchat, tuba.

Tenor saxophone trios, once limited to visionaries like Sonny Rollins, are now fairly common in jazz. But you don’t often encounter a trumpet trio – especially one that will go from a Charlie Parker classic to a Gershwin prelude to Thad Jones’ “A Child is Born.” That’s what’s on the menu Friday for the Orbert Davis Trio, featuring Chicago native Brandon McCune (musical director for singer Nnenna Freelon) on piano and Stewart Miller on bass. Davis modeled the jazz arrangements after the duets Oscar Peterson recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Harry Sweets Edison, Roy Eldridge and Jon Faddis. The classical component is pure Orbert, this year’s Artist-in-Residence.

Each summer, the University of Illinois Chicago and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic co-administer a two-week jazz camp, the Jazz Academy, at which high school and elementary school students get to play with and learn from a special assortment of jazz pros including Artist-in-Residence Orbert Davis. In addition to band studies, the students are offered classes in jazz history and jazz aesthetics. Today, students selected from the just-completed session of the Jazz Academy will get to perform with a cast of pros headed by Davis and including violinist Zach Brock. It’ll be one of the more entertaining all-star events of the summer.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Roosevelt University – Ganz Hall
Orbert Davis Trio
5:00 pm

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Petrillo Music Shell
Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble
7:10 – 8:10 pm

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
The Chicago Community Trust Young Jazz Lions Stage
Orbert Davis’ Jazz Academy
3:20 – 4:00 pm

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Grant Park, Jazz on Jackson Stage
Orbert Davis’ Quintet with Ryan Cohan,
Ari Brown, Stewart Miller and Ernie Adams
1:10 – 2:05 pm

As she demonstrated with her recent masterpiece of standards, Loverly, Wilson remains committed to the jazz repertory. But whether dusting off “The Very Thought of You” or channeling the blues of “Dust My Broom,” she brings out striking shades of emotion with her husky, free-floating, luxuriantly unhurried vocals. Wilson is a conjurer and shaper of moods, an artist who is as well-suited to interpreting the Miles Davis songbook, as she did on her album Traveling Miles, as trading vocals with R&B star John Legend, which she did on her most recent effort, Silver Pony.

Wilson, who usually performs barefoot, brings that same naturalistic approach to her band, which is there less to accompany her than to bond with her using its seductive rhythms and cool textures. With the exception of New Orleans-schooled pianist Jon Cowherd (who co-founded the Brian Blade Fellowship and has backed jazz-gospel singer LIzz Wright), Wilson’s band is one of longtime associates: the extraordinary guitarist Marvin Sewell, a Chicago native; bassist Reginald Veal; drummer Herlin Riley, and harmonica player Gregoire Maret.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Petrillo Music Shell
Cassandra Wilson
8:30 – 9:30 pm

As he demonstrated on pianist Steve Kuhn’s exceptional 2009 album, Mostly Coltrane, Lovano has deeply absorbed the Trane influence. Perhaps the most warmly embraced jazz musician of his generation, he seemingly can do no wrong. On his latest album, Bird Songs, he pays glowing personal tribute to Charlie Parker. His previous efforts include a brilliant collection of Frank Sinatra songs, unforgettable encounters with the late pianist Hank Jones and Third Stream music done to a T.

Liebman has been one of the foremost Coltrane authorities and advocates for many years, never going long without interpreting one of his compositions or showing off a Coltrane-ish intensity on soprano and tenor saxophone. Ravi Coltrane, who joined Saxophone Summit following the death of charter member Michael Brecker, has developed a sly, mellifluous style very different from but still rooted in his father’s music. No less committed to the band’s priestly role model is its rhythm section: pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Saxophone Summit featuring Joe Lovano, David Liebman and Ravi Coltrane
8:00 – 9:30 pm

Sanchez’s most recent album, Ninety Miles, was recorded in Cuba, where two other leading young players, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and trumpeter Christian Scott, hooked up with two of Havana’s top quartets. Tonight, Sanchez will lead his own excellent quartet, including the brilliant pianist Edward Simon and drummer Henry Cole. Stefon Harris, a classically schooled original recognized as the top vibist of his generation, will join in as a special guest, and is likely to be featured on one or two songs from Ninety Miles.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Petrillo Music Shell
David Sanchez with special guest Stefon Harris
7:10 – 8:10 pm

And then there are their individual endeavors, which span pre-swing, bebop and free jazz, rap, dance and world music. Cyrille’s solo drum performances and duets with traps genius Milford Graves dared go where no drummer had gone before. Lake, a prolific composer in new music as well as jazz, broke new ground with his roots-reggae band Jumpin’ Up and his Steel Quartet. Workman’s remarkable African-American Legacy Project features a 20-piece orchestra and 18-member chorus.

If Trio 3′s range isn’t remarkable enough as it is, the addition of pianist Geri Allen puts it over the top. Firmly established in the pantheon of living pianists, she has made one major statement after another in recent times with her Mary Lou Williams tributes, solo recording and Timeline band album. Allen, whose latest recording with Trio 3 is the live Celebrating Mary Lou Williams, is another artist who views modern jazz and its earlier styles on the same continuum. Quartet 4, if you will, may be the best case of addition by addition you’ll ever hear.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Petrillo Music Shell
Trio 3 + Geri Allen
6:00 – 6:55 pm

Now, in celebration of his 85th birthday, and as the concluding headliner in this year’s “Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz” series, the genially imposing Weston returns to perform both popular and rarely heard  Liston arrangements with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. The Brooklyn icon, who combines a love of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk with a devotion to African culture, is an irresistible talent. No matter how many times you’ve heard classics of his including “Hi Fly,” “Little Niles” and “The Healers,” they never lose their melodic richness or rhythmic allure.

This is a great time for Weston, who recently published an acclaimed biography, African Rhythms, and released a wonderful accompanying live recording, The Storyteller. He’ll be backed by one of the best editions of the CJE, which was founded in 1965 by the late William Russo, led in recent years by Jon Faddis and now boasts a new artistic director in drummer Dana Hall. He’ll lead Dan Nicholson and Jarrad Harris, alto saxophones; Pat Mallinger, tenor saxophone; Rob Denty, tenor saxophone and clarinet; Tim McNamara, baritone saxophone; Andy Baker, Tim Coffman, Tracy Kirk and Thomas Matta, trombones; Mark Olen, Larry Bowen, Art Hoyle and Pharez Whitted, trumpets; Jeremy Kahn, piano; Jeff Parker, guitar and Dan Anderson, bass.

Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz
Spiritual Source: Randy Weston and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble featuring the arrangements of Melba Liston
6:30 pm

In equally short order, it seemed, he was gone. After studying with Louisiana legend Alvin Batiste at Southern University in Baton Rouge, he asserted himself in New Orleans, where he mixed it up with top local players, scored a weekly gig at the Snug Harbor jazz club and recorded his first album, Hip to Bop. Think of hard bop monsters Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan dipping into contemporary grooves, personalizing the sound with “wah wah” effects and such, and you’ll have a hint of what a blast of fresh air Brown was.

The next leg of his journey was set in motion by Hurricane Katrina, which he escaped with little more than his horn and his laptop. As captured in the documentary, Brass Movement: A Modern Love Story, he landed on his feet, and then some, in New York, where his talents were demanded by such artists as Aretha Franklin, Roy Hargrove, Talib Kweli, Diddy, Cee-Lo Green and rising Irish soul singer Laura Izibor. Whatever he’s playing, he creates instant excitement. A group with its own strong personality, the Maurice Brown Effect includes New Orleans saxophonist Derek Douget, pianist (and Chicago native) Chris Rob, bassist Solomon Dorsey and drummer Joe Blaxx.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Petrillo Music Shell
Maurice Brown Effect
5:00 – 5:50 pm

Part of what makes Bowden the artist he is, is his openness to new ways of composing and playing. Today, in a late-morning talk, with musical scores projected behind him, he’ll discuss his recent experimentation in basing his music on geometric and organic shapes (he says he was inspired by the sculptured gardens at the Louvre Museum). Then, in a high-noon performance, he’ll execute those designs with an eagerly anticipated band featuring New Orleans legend Kidd Jordan on saxophone, Harrison Bankhead on cello (instead of his trusty bass), Junius Paul on bass, Dushun Mosely on drums – and Bowden’s son, poet Khari B., on voice. Don’t worry about getting lost in his “Maze,” not with him there to guide you.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Chicago Cultural Center

Claudia Cassidy Theater
Mwata Bowden Lecture/Discussion
11:30 am – 12 Noon
Mwata Bowden “The Maze Factor”
12:15 – 1:15 pm

Mike Reed is on a mission. With three acclaimed albums, his band, People, Places and Things, has celebrated, paid tribute to, updated, and in some cases collaborated with heroes of Chicago jazz whose achievements during the ’50s are overlooked or in danger of falling off the cliff of collective memory. Artists like Walter Perkins, John Jenkins, Julian Priester, Wilbur Campbell and Ira Sullivan. Artists without whose sturdy foundation today’s exceptional crop of Chicago players would be a lot poorer.

Tonight, in a specially commissioned performance, Reed and an amazing young cutting-edge band drawn equally from New York and Chicago will explore the music and mythology of another key Chicago player from the era, Sun Ra. The basis for the work is the Experimental Sound Studio’s archive of some 700 hours of rehearsal tapes, masters, live recordings and vocal recitations left behind by Sun Ra. Some of those sounds will be the basis for newly composed music, while others will be used as samples and electronic backgrounds at Grant Park.

Reed, known as the man behind the Pitchfork Festival, will perform on drums and electronics. He’ll be joined by the Windy City alignment of vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, cellist Tomeka Reid, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, bassist Josh Abrams and electronics artist Nick Butcher. The New York contingent includes cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, drummer Tomas Fujiwara and two rising stars who together, and apart, have made some of the most exciting music of the past year: guitarist Mary Halvorson and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. This should not be approached as a Sun Ra tribute, Reed emphasized, but an effort to make art out of unfinished pieces. The results could be magical.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Petrillo Music Shell
Mike Reed’s Myth/Science Assembly
5:00 – 5:50 pm

Mike Reed is on a mission. With three acclaimed albums, his band, People, Places and Things, has celebrated, paid tribute to, updated, and in some cases collaborated with heroes of Chicago jazz whose achievements during the ’50s are overlooked or in danger of falling off the cliff of collective memory. Artists like Walter Perkins, John Jenkins, Julian Priester, Wilbur Campbell and Ira Sullivan. Artists without whose sturdy foundation today’s exceptional crop of Chicago players would be a lot poorer.

Tonight, in a specially commissioned performance, Reed and an amazing young cutting-edge band drawn equally from New York and Chicago will explore the music and mythology of another key Chicago player from the era, Sun Ra. The basis for the work is the Experimental Sound Studio’s archive of some 700 hours of rehearsal tapes, masters, live recordings and vocal recitations left behind by Sun Ra. Some of those sounds will be the basis for newly composed music, while others will be used as samples and electronic backgrounds at Grant Park.

Reed, known as the man behind the Pitchfork Festival, will perform on drums and electronics. He’ll be joined by the Windy City alignment of vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, cellist Tomeka Reid, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, bassist Josh Abrams and electronics artist Nick Butcher. The New York contingent includes cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, drummer Tomas Fujiwara and two rising stars who together, and apart, have made some of the most exciting music of the past year: guitarist Mary Halvorson and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. This should not be approached as a Sun Ra tribute, Reed emphasized, but an effort to make art out of unfinished pieces. The results could be magical.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Petrillo Music Shell
Mike Reed’s Myth/Science Assembly
5:00 – 5:50 pm

Not that Clayton is any kind of shrinking violet. On his Grammy®-winning debut, Two-Shade, he injected a youthful abandon and occasional volatility into the mainstream piano trio format. He has distinguished himself in the hard-hitting bands of this year’s closing headliner, trumpeter Roy Hargrove. At the age of 26, he promises to have the kind of impact such great forebearers as Jamal, Red Garland and maybe even Oscar Peterson had.

The pianist comes from one of jazz’s leading families. His father is the celebrated bassist John Clayton, his uncle the saxophonist Jeff Clayton. Performing with them in the Clayton Brothers band, he has gotten the ultimate lesson in teamwork. With bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown, he attains a remarkably high level of interaction and cohesiveness, mostly playing original pieces, but also transforming standards. The piano trio not only lives, it’s still full of surprises.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Grant Park
Jazz on Jackson Stage
Gerald Clayton Trio
3:30 – 4:30 PM

Perhaps the best way to capture the Ira-ness of Sullivan is to say the mere mention of his name never fails to induce smiles among the jazz faithful here, and happy memories of all his good times in Chicago with Eddie Harris and Norman Simmons and Johnny Griffin and Wilbur Campbell and Jodie Christian. “I don’t write, I don’t arrange, I don’t even read well. I just want to play,” he once said. That isn’t entirely accurate, but it conveys his great love of performing jazz, which is undiminished all these years later.

Actually, two 80th birthdays will be celebrated tonight: Sullivan’s and that of another great crony of his, pianist Willie Pickens, who will reunite with him for part of the set.  Vibist Stu Katz, another long time collaborator of Ira’s, will also put in a guest appearance during the set.  Except during Willie’s appearance, Sullivan will be accompanied by the excellent trio of pianist Ron Perrillo, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Greg Artry.  Happy birthday, Ira and Willie, and let the preparations for your 85th celebrations begin.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Petrillo Music Shell
Ira Sullivan 80th Birthday Celebration
6:00 – 6:55 pm

Robinson was considering calling it quits when a 2004 MacArthur Fellowship came to the rescue. With the institutional support, he was able to re-commit himself to his craft, re-record his songs and expand his repertoire. In collaboration with the multi-talented arranger Stu Greenspan, with whom Robinson worked at the Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, he has realized a longstanding aim of devising both ragtime and modern-style pieces for a sextet.

Neither a nostalgist nor an imitator, Robinson is a true American original. Today, he’ll perform with Greenspan, bass; Tim McNamara, clarinet and saxophones; Robert Griffin of 8 Bold Souls, trumpet; Steve Berry of New Horizons Ensemble, trombone, and Rob Dicke, drums.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Jazz & Heritage Stage
Reginald Robinson Sextet
12:30 – 1:30 pm

Kahn has now cut three albums as part of a project to record all of Adams’ music. On the latest one, he takes Adams ballads such as “In Love with Night” and “Urban Dreams,” set them to lyrics and treats them as medium and uptempo vehicles for New York singer Alexis Cole. Today, festgoers will be treated to a selection of those tunes, performed by a strong lineup including Cole, veteran saxophonist Pat LaBarbera, trumpeter Geof Bradfield, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer George Fludas.

A Chicago native who spent formative years performing in bars and lounges in New York and Boston before moving back home and settling into a memorable stint at the Gold Star Sardine Bar, Kahn is a wide-ranging artist whose past recordings have included a memorable take on The Threepenny Opera. He can evoke Bill Evans with his post bop lyricism, embrace the more complicated modernism of Wayne Shorter and go pre-modern with a Bix Beiderbecke tune. Pepper Adams would be pleased to have his music in Kahn’s hands.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Grant Park
Jazz on Jackson Stage
Jeremy Kahn and the Pepper Adams Project
2:20 – 3:15 pm

There’s a good chance, however, that you’re not familiar with pianist Bill Carrothers. Though he’s regarded as some kind of genius in jazz circles and has recorded a string of memorable albums, he’s something of a recluse. Having tried the New York jazz life and quit it just as he was becoming known, the Minneapolis native lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where he records Civil War music and tunes from the great World War; he also records jazz for small labels including Germany’s Pirouet.

But with his recent Live at the Village Vanguard, a two-disc trio recording, Carrothers reasserted his gifts, which include lyrical insight and the ability to wax harmonically on the run. And his teaming with a horn player as vital as Mallinger can only raise his profile even more. In what is sure to be one of the highlights of the festival, they’ll be backed by the omnipresent bass-drum team of Dennis Carroll and George Fludas.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Jazz on Jackson Stage
Pat Mallinger / Bill Carrothers Quartet
12:00 NOON – 12:55 pm

Broom, who cut his artistic teeth as a New York teenager playing with Sonny Rollins, and emerged as a leading guitarist in his own right with his melodic, full-bodied style after moving to Chicago, scored an artistic breakthrough with his 2009 album, Bobby Broom Plays for Monk. Had Foreman come up a few decades earlier with his coiled, energizing sound, he would be as well known on the Hammond B-3 as Jimmy McGriff and maybe even Jimmy Smith. True to his name, Rockingham, who founded the group in the early 1990s, is as rock steady as they come.

As a guest player, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson could hardly be better suited to Deep Blue. A cutting, gospel-driven soloist whose band Horizon set the standard for hard bop bands in the early ’90s (he’s an alumnus and onetime music director of the Jazz Messengers), he also emulated Johnny Hodges in a group that paid tribute to Duke Ellington’s favorite saxophonist. Don’t be surprised if you hear hints of Hodges’ work with organist Wild Bill Davis in tonight’s set.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Millennium Park,
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Bobby Broom and the Deep Blue Organ Trio with special guest Bobby Watson
6:30-7:30 pm

Broom, who cut his artistic teeth as a New York teenager playing with Sonny Rollins, and emerged as a leading guitarist in his own right with his melodic, full-bodied style after moving to Chicago, scored an artistic breakthrough with his 2009 album, Bobby Broom Plays for Monk. Had Foreman come up a few decades earlier with his coiled, energizing sound, he would be as well known on the Hammond B-3 as Jimmy McGriff and maybe even Jimmy Smith. True to his name, Rockingham, who founded the group in the early 1990s, is as rock steady as they come.

As a guest player, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson could hardly be better suited to Deep Blue. A cutting, gospel-driven soloist whose band Horizon set the standard for hard bop bands in the early ’90s (he’s an alumnus and onetime music director of the Jazz Messengers), he also emulated Johnny Hodges in a group that paid tribute to Duke Ellington’s favorite saxophonist. Don’t be surprised if you hear hints of Hodges’ work with organist Wild Bill Davis in tonight’s set.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Millennium Park,
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Bobby Broom and the Deep Blue Organ Trio with special guest Bobby Watson
6:30-7:30 pm

As a co-founder of the Chicago Asian-America Jazz Festival with local artists Tatsu Aoki and Yoke Noge, Wong is a familiar presence in town. But of all the works he has brought here, none may be more personal than Shanghai Stories, based on the memoirs of his 90-year-old father. The elder Wong was growing up in China in the 1920s and 1930s, when East and West began meeting musically – when the cultures began absorbing each other’s musical forms and methods, eventually leading on this side of the world to such landmark Duke Ellington works as The Far East Suite and Afro-Eurasian Eclipse.

Wong’s ensemble will include the virtuoso hammered dulcimer player Yangqin Zhao of San Francisco’s Melody of China ensemble. Equally intriguing is the pairing/squaring off of Wong and imposing Chicago tenor man Edward Wilkerson, Jr. of 8 Bold Souls. The talent-heavy band also will include Aoki on bass and shamisen, Jeff Chan on bass clarinet, Amy Homma on Taiko drums and the wondrous Tomeka Reid on cello.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Chicago Cultural Center
Claudia Cassidy Theater
Shanghai Stories
1:45-2:45pm

At a time when the Afrobeat popularized by the late, great Fela Kuti is a primary influence on other bands, the OBDB has feasted on Ghanaian Highlife and Congolese soukous (one of the band’s highlights was collaborating with Congolese music legend Samba Mapangala on the well-received tribute song, “Obama Ubarikiwe”). Braddock and Co. started out playing African classics from the 50s and 60s, but now boast an impressive book of original compositions. Braddock, who played with indie-rock artists including Edith Frost and the Zincs, is a wonderfully agile, effortless-seeming force on guitar. The much-in-demand alto saxophonist Greg Ward powers the music with his fiery, spirited sound. The second guitartist is Antonio Carella, the bassist Joshua Ramos and the drummer young powerhouse Makaya McCraven.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Jazz on Jackson Stage
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International
3:30 – 4:30 pm

On Far Away Places, her duo album with guitartist Andy Brown (her husband), she basks in melody and, on tunes like Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It,” intimacy. In the company of the Recession Seven, she’ll get rhythm and plenty of it with Brown, trumpeter Art Davis, trombonist Tom Bartlett (subbing for Russ Phillips), clarinetist Kim Cusack, bassist Joe Policastro and drummer Bob Rummage.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Jazz and Heritage Stage
Petra’s Recession Seven
2:00 – 3 pm

Dawkins has had to contend with some major departures over the years, including, most sadly, the passing of trumpeter Ameen Muhammad, and the loss of guitarist Jeff Parker to Tortoise, the longstanding instrumental rock band, and his own projects. That New Horizons has kept going without losing a beat is testament to both the group concept and Dawkins’ skills as a recruiter of young talent. Tonight’s lineup will feature young trumpeters Marquis Hill and Shaun Jackson, along with veteran trombonist Steve Berry, bassist Junius Paul and drummer Isaiah Spencer – and a return appearance by Parker, who is featured on The Prairie Prophet.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Jazz & Heritage Stage
Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble
2:00 – 3:00 pm

Ulery also is schooled in the art of drawing fresh emotion from unusual instrumental blends. Loom, which features pianist and accordionist Rob Clearfield, trumpeter Thad Franklin, tenor saxophonist Tim Haldeman, violinist Zach Brock, vibraphonist Katie Wiegman and drummer Jon Deitemyer, is a band of steadiy shifting focus. Each of the musicians has a say in the ebb and flow of the music. In the end, you may not know what to call it. But you’ll be so happily lost in it, that won’t matter.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Grant Park
Jazz on Jackson Stage
Matt Ulery’s Loom
2:20 – 3:15 pm

Collaso has enjoyed success as a singer of jingles, a background vocalist and a theater artist, but she’s most in her element leading her band down these memory lanes. Her pianist and music director is Larry Hanks. Also joining her is guitarist Henry Johnson (a leading player in his own right in addition to being a fine accompanist of singers), bassist Chuck Webb and drummer Ernie Adams. Tonight’s set will feature tunes from all of the above tributes. Ooo whee? Yes indeed.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Jazz & Heritage Stage
Joan Collaso Quintet
3:30 – 4:30 pm

But with such stellar players as saxophonists Pat Mallinger and Tim McNamara (both Chicago Jazz Ensemble veterans), Chicago Jazz Orchestra keyboardist Dan Trudell, Von Freeman guitarist Mike Allemana and rising drummer Gerald Dowd, the MCBB is no joke. O’Hern, who played piano in the ghost bands of Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller, knows his big band dynamics. This band knows how to move. Adding to today’s movable merriment will be vocalist Carol Kagy.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Grant Park

Jazz on Jackson Stage
Brian O’Hern and the Model Citizens Big Band
12 NOON – 12:55 pm

Dogan, who sometimes sings, frequently writes. Today, he’ll perform a set of originals with a band of distinguished longtime associates: bass trumpeter Ryan Shultz, saxophonist Ron Dewar, and the rhythm team featured on his recent trio album, My Blues Roots, bassist Dan DeLorenzo and drummer Joe Adamik. As he demonstrates on the recording, Dogan draws uncommon warmth from the blues. Many of today’s music-school-trained prodigies would kill to have his touch.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Chicago Cultural Center

Preston Bradley Hall
Bob Dogan Quintet
12:30 – 1:30 pm

De la Cerna is a third-generation Chicago pianist. His grandfather, General Morgan, accompanied such major artists as trumpeter Henry “Red” Allen and Billie Holiday during the ’40s. His aunt, Gloria Morgan, was a popular jazz performer known for her silky vocals and aggressive sound on piano. Their styles all find their way, somehow, into his musical makeup.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Jazz and Heritage Stage
Miguel de la Cerna Quartet
12:30 – 1:30 pm

But no Montgomery tribute would be complete without a smattering of the music for which, for better or worse, he is best known. Backed by bassist Chuck Webb and drummer Leon Joyce, Robinson will play a medley of the Wes favorite “Bumpin’ on Sunset” (which turned future guitar innovator Bill Frisell on to jazz with such amazements as a single note played simultaneously in three octaves) and a Michael Jackson tune whose title Robinson was keeping under wraps. Even if it isn’t “Thriller,” this set could well be one.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Chicago Cultural Center

Randolph Café
Curtis Robinson Trio
1:30-2:30 pm

Like his onetime mentor, tenor saxophonist Joe Daley (who died in 1994), he is a kind of guru of artistic expression. His playing and composing reveal both deep roots in jazz history and an exploratory streak that takes him one step beyond, to use the title of one of alto sax great Jackie McLean’s albums. That said, Get Happy comes as something of a surprise. On it, Corpolongo puts aside his alto to play exuberant tenor, and not on rigorous originals, but post bop standards and Charlie Parker classics. That’s what he’ll be playing today in celebration of his upcoming 70th birthday, joined by two longtime cronies: bassist Dan Shapera, who played with him in Daley’s band, and drummer Rusty Jones. Don’t let the early start time lull you into expectations of a relaxed opening set. This trio will hit the ground running.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Chicago Cultural Center

Randolph Café
Rich Corpolongo Trio
12 Noon – 1:00 pm

In recent times, though, salsa dura has enjoyed a renaissance, thanks to bands like Chicago’s Latin Inspiration. Since 2002, under the leadership of trombonist Johnny Rodriguez, the group has dedicated itself to re-popularizing the style. Mixing original compositions with jazz classics by Charlie Parker, J.J. Johnson and Juan Tizol and Latin standards by Eddie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria and Willie Colon, Rodriguez and company are the best kind of hybrid: All the pieces fit.

The band, which can be heard on the album, Latin Inspiration, features Eddie Ramos, tenor saxophonist; Victor Garcia and Jerome Croswell, trumpets; Francisco Merced, piano; Bret Bentler, bass; Osvaldo Merced, congas; Jean-Claud Leroy, drums and timbales; David Velez, bongos, and Franklin Paz, vocals.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Jazz and Heritage Stage
Latin Inspiration
3:30 – 4:30 pm