2018 Chicago Jazz Festival

2018 Chicago Jazz Festival -- Story and photos by Greg Turner

Kurt Eling

There were 2 major changes to this year’s Chicago Jazz Festival. The festival started one week earlier than usual because of festival sponsored concerts in neighborhoods throughout the city. Another was that the main stage Pritkzer Pavillion performances at Millennium Park started and ended one hour earlier, to encourage festival goers to visit Chicago’s many jazz clubs. With many different sounds and styles that come up under the word “jazz” these days, including large groups of musicians staring at sheet music, I looked to the elders appearing on the main stage to give me what I needed.

Jeff "Tain" Watts

Jeff "Tain" Watts

Vocalist Kurt  Elling, 50, returned to his hometown to collaborate with a group of Chicago musicians, and added 2 special guests, trumpeter Marquis Hill, also a returning Chicago native, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, 58, to close out Thursday evening. Featuring mostly music from Elling’s latest “The Questions” the group raised the bar for the rest of the fest, with Tain driving them with his joyous, powerful drumming.

Louis Hayes

Dezron Douglas

Dianne Reeves

Still spry and swinging at 80, drummer Louis Hayes and his quintet performed music from his Horace Sliver tribute, with the band members being the same as on the 2017 Blue Note CD. Laying the foundation with Hayes was the young bassist Dezron Douglas, whose smile suggested he was the happiest man in the city. Someone who probably wasn’t happy would be vocalist Dianne Reeves, 61, whose Friday finale was drowned out by torrential rains after only one song, but one could tell it was going to be memorable…

Kenny Barron

Mike Rodriguez

Also appearing on the festival main stage with the same group as on his recent Blue Note CD was pianist Kenny Barron. At 75 years of age Barron has been long been regarded as one of the best players and leaders in this music, and it was certainly evident in his quintet’s Saturday night performance. I really enjoyed the slower-than-usual arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Bebop” and the unified sound of trumpeter Mike Rodriguez and saxophonist Dayna Stephens. In what he has said will be his last public performance, pianist Ramsey Lewis, 83, closed Saturday evening, delighting the huge crowd with renditions of his “hits” such as “The In Crowd” and Sun Goddess”.

Charles McPhersion

Sunday’s festival highlight for me was the music from alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, 79, and pianist Barry Harris, 88. Working with veteran Chicago players, bassist Larry Gray and drummer George Fludas, the quartet overcame a shaky start to fall into a nice straight ahead groove, including 2 Monk pieces. The festival closed with an appearance by alto saxophonist Maceo Parker and his band, and the less said about it the better. Guess the festival programmers wanted something the people could dance to concluding the festival…

And that’s my report of this year’s Chicago Jazz Festival . Even though I can’t get around to see as much as I used to, I always have a great time and I look forward to returning again next year.

Greg Turner