Chicago's 24th Annual Englewood Jazz Festival Set For Next Month

Long an annual tradition, Live the Spirit Residency presents the free 24th Englewood Jazz Festival on September 14, 15, and 16, 2023 at Hamilton Park and Cultural Center at 513 W 72nd St. This year the 3-day festival illuminates emerging and established homegrown artists that demonstrate Live the Spirit Residency’s deep commitment to educating and mentoring the next generation of jazz. Featured artists include pianist Alexis Lombre (performing the World Premiere of her new work Synesthesia, Pt. 1), vibraphonist Joel Ross, recent winner of Downbeat Magazine’s Critics Poll vibraphone category, and saxophonist and Festival Resident Artist Isaiah Collier. These artists have all achieved national and international recognition, thanks to Live the Spirit Residency and its leader Ernest Dawkins’ long-term dedication to music education, mentoring, and inter-generational knowledge exchange.  

The festival will open on Thursday, September 14 with a reprise of Dawkins’ Memory in the Center, an Afro Jazz Opera, originally commissioned and performed for the City’s Made in Chicago series in Millennium Park in 2014. This project reflects the determination and spirit that energized the South African freedom movement led by Nelson Mandela by foregrounding the influential women in Mandela’s life – Winnie Mandela and Graça Machel – through the powerful voice of Chicago’s own Kopano. It will be performed by the Live the Spirit Residency Big Band. “I’m revisiting this work because its message of self-determination as an engine of progress has become even more important for people to hear at this moment,” said Dawkins. This work will also be performed soon at Poetry Africa, in honor of the tenth anniversary of Mandela’s passing.

The Festival Residency has given saxophonist Isaiah Collier’s Chosen Few Ensemble the space and support to advance new musical ideas. Collier says “The experience of being raised in an environment like Chicago where there have been so many opportunities to develop my vision has been pivotal to my success.”

The Young Masters will get a chance to strut while established Chicago artists including bassist Frank Russell, New Horizons with special guest guitarist Jeff Parker, and trumpeter Marques Carroll, who will summit with NY trumpeter Sean Jones, round out this community-centered celebration. 

The festival takes place rain or shine, moving indoors in case of inclement weather. Some seating is provided, but attendees are advised to bring their own chairs, blankets, picnics, and an appetite for the kind of music that uplifts and transforms the human spirit! Further information is available at englewoodjazzfest.org.

Additionally, as part of this event, to honor those whose work has helped shape and strengthen the foundation of jazz in Chicago, the annual Spirit of Jazz Awards will be presented to:

• Wayne Segal, Owner of Jazz Showcase 

• Mashaune Hardy, Associate Director of Partnerships & Strategy, Logan Center

• Pharez Whitted, Director of Jazz Studies, NIU

Sponsors of the Englewood Jazz Festival include WDCB Radio and The Chicago Park District.

Complete schedule: 24th Englewood Jazz Festival @ 513 W 72nd St

Thursday, September 14, 2023, 6:00 PM

Ernest Dawkins Live The Spirit Residency Big Band-- Memory in the Center, an Afro-opera

Friday, September 15, 2023, 6:00 PM

Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few

Saturday, September 16, 2023, 11:30 AM-6:00 PM