The season opener will feature the band that started it all: Bebop Brass.

Captain Walter Dyett was a teacher at DuSable High School where he instilled a love for music and the discipline to play it to a long list of renowned musicians including Johnny Griffin, Eddie Harris, Joseph Jarman and many more. The concert will feature distinguished Dyett alumni Von Freeman, Edwin Daugherty, Earma Thompson, T.S. Galloway, Mwata Bowden, Jimmy Ellis and Robert Barry.

Chicago has always been a city of big bass players. This concert will pay tribute to the legacies of Wilbur Ware, Milt Hinton, Fred Hopkins and Malachi Favors, featuring bassists Larry Gray and Harrison Bankhead, with Ari Brown on piano, Avreeayl Ra on drums, Art Hoyle on trumpet and Edward Wilkerson on reeds.

Chicago Jazz Ensemble featuring world renowned trumpeter and CJE Artistic Director Jon Faddis. Everybody loves to dance, and Chicago’s newest adopted jazz master will make sure you’re smiling as your feet glide over the polished wooden floors of beautiful Hamilton Park. This is a rare opportunity to hear one of Chicago’s premiere jazz orchestras for free!

The new generation of Chicago musicians is accomplished and versatile. The third installment of Young Lions features saxophonist Kevin Nabors, pianist Miguel de la Cerna, bassist Junius Paul, trumpeter Marquis Hill and drummer Kobie Watkins.

Vocalist Dee Alexander is one of Chicago’s hidden treasures. Known as a “musician’s musician” she’s capable of tuning her instrument in myriad ways. Her tribute to Huff is comprised of songs the Chicago saxophonist had written for her before he passed away several years ago. Featuring Douglas Ewart on reeds Harrison Bankhead on bass, Queen Au on harp and Avreeayl Ra on drums.

Performing in the heart of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community at the open-air Boathouse in Humboldt Park, the three bands taking the stage include the Afro-Cuban sounds of Richie Pillot’s Havana, the traditional Latin Jazz of Conjunto and Darwin Noguera’s Evolution Trio, a group that brings contemporary jazz into Latin forms.

This concert brings together the original band members from the 70s when veteran pianist Ken Chaney first made Chicago his home.

As always, an opportunity to make visible the connections between and among the musicians and the music.

We have invited master organist Dr. Lonnie Smith to the JazzCity stage to share his soulful organ grooves with the Chicago audience.