Saxophonitis at Hamilton Park & Cultural Center

The 26th Annual Englewood Jazz Festival, presented by Live the Spirit Residency, returns to Chicago’s historic Hamilton Park, expanding to five nights this year on September 16–20, 2025, marking a powerful milestone in American music: the 60th Anniversary of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). All events are FREE. 

Saxophonitis: Featuring: Ernest Dawkins, Kevin King, Jacob Slocum, Fred Jackson, and a surprise guest.

Ernest Dawkins is a saxophonist and composer, whose life goal is for his music and compositions to reflect the evolving collective cultural memory of the African-American jazz aesthetic. His four decades of work as a professional artist, educator, and community-based organizer are widely recognized for shaping the contemporary cultural landscape of Chicago and beyond. He is the founder and executive director of Live the Spirit Residency and past Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Commissions by the Jazz Institute of Chicago (Tim Black Blacker Than Black) and South Arts (Refound Connections) were both premiered in 2022. Other commissions include the Old Town School of Folk Music, the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, Sant’Anna Arresi Jazz Festival, Sons d’Hiver Festival, Banliues Bleues Festival, Meet the Composers, and the King Arts Complex of Columbus Ohio. He is the leader and founder of several ensembles, most notably the New Horizons Ensemble, Aesop Quartet, Chicago Trio, Live the Spirit Big Band, and the Chicago 12. Dawkins has recorded numerous CDs and his publishing company, Dawk Music, has seventeen releases to date.