At 25 the Jazz Fest is middle-aged by music-festival standards, and (thanks to the city’s 9:30 curfew on Grant Park events) for the last several years it’s been going to bed a little earlier than it used to. So the schedule of pre- and postconcert presentations–which began to take its current shape in the mid-80s and has continued to evolve since then–has become all the more important for serious jazzheads. Below, a nightly guide to the festival beyond the festival.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
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The sets start Thursday and run through Sunday; any night has the potential to shine, but tonight’s my pick to click. Dave Holland’s big band headlines at the park, and its lineup includes several likely Showcase visitors: the widely praised saxist Chris Potter (who, like Holland, has played the Showcase with his own group), the scintillating baritone saxist Gary Smulyan, trombonist Robin Eubanks, alto man Antonio Hart, and vibist Steve Nelson. Friday’s festival program also features tenor saxist Ron Blake and trumpeter Maurice Brown, both former locals, and pianist Anthony Wonsey (another hometown boy made good) should be here in advance of his fest appearance Saturday in Elvin Jones’s band; all are likely to drop by the Showcase tonight.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
Start today with what has become the traditional breakfast of champions among Jazz Festival die-hards–the Delmark Records Jazz Brunch. Bob Koester, the label’s crusty owner, springs for the spread (coffee, juice, fruit, bagels, and pastries) and music (featuring a dozen or more of those who’ve recorded for his label) at the home of his other business venture, the Jazz Record Mart (444 N. Wabash). He has more reason than usual to be magnanimous this year: it’s the 50th anniversary of both the label and the store, and later today the Jazz Fest pays tribute with an entire afternoon of performances by Delmark artists. At press time, the brunch roster included the wonderful clarinetist Frank Chase (an inventive explorer barely known outside trad-jazz circles), a trio headed by the exemplary Chicago pianist Jodie Christian, saxists Fred Anderson and the rarely heard Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, trumpeter Malachi Thompson, and guitarist Jeff Parker. Don’t be late: the whole shebang runs only from 10 till noon.
