Angel Bat Dawid performs with her band the Brothahood at Transition East Studio on Wednesday, August 28. Leslie Frempong for the Chicago Reader
The Chicago Jazz Festival provides a rich cross section of the genre, and this year it’s partnered with a diverse group of local presenters for a series of neighborhood concerts that begins on Friday, August 23. But local jazz clubs and presenters offer a diverse bounty of music all year round—and they step up their efforts for the fest. The Dog/Days concerts at Constellation and the Hungry Brain, most of which are free, begin the weekend before the festival and are worth a plane ticket all by themselves. Traditional postfestival options include the Jazz Showcase’s weeklong series of reliably swinging jam sessions (hosted by multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan) and adventurous acts such as saxophonist Kidd Jordan, making his annual visit from New Orleans (this year he’s at Constellation and the Hungry Brain). Among the newer events is the two-night Preservation of Fire fest (on Tuesday and Wednesday in Bridgeport and South Chicago, respectively), which features the likes of Resavoir and Angel Bat Dawid.
Thursday, August 22
James Singleton’s 3Now4 with Dave Easley, Ed Wilkerson, and Charles Rumback
Part of the Dog/Days series. 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $10, 18+
Friday, August 23
JD Allen Trio
Part of the Dog/Days series. 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, free, 18+
Saturday, August 24
Brown Derby Jazz Revue hosted by Sandra Bivens
6 PM, Great Lakes Elks Lodge, 5110 S. Prairie, facebook.com/Brown-Derby-Jazz-Revue-208552879173037, $15, 21+
Marc Ribot, Clausen/Heinemann/Hunton Trio
Part of the Dog/Days series. 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, free, 18+
Sunday, August 25
Brown Derby Jazz Revue hosted by Sandra Bivens
6 PM, Great Lakes Elks Lodge, 5110 S. Prairie, facebook.com/Brown-Derby-Jazz-Revue-208552879173037, $15, 21+
Cooper-Moore, Lesser Lakes Trio
Part of the Dog/Days series. 9 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, free, 21+
Monday, August 26
Afterfest jam session hosted by Ira Sullivan
8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, $20-$35, all ages
Extraordinary Popular Delusions
8:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, free, 21+
Oh Yeahs, Alejandro Urzagaste Trio
Night one of the inaugural Anagram Festival. 9 PM, Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey, second floor, $10, all ages
Pop Up Nu Jazz Festival with Thaddeus Tukes, Sam Trump, the Young Masters Ensemble directed by Ernest Dawkins, Alexis Lombre, and the Englewood/Soweto Exchange with guest Akenya Seymour
5 PM, Whole Foods Market Englewood parking lot, 832 W. 63rd, free, all ages
Tuesday, August 27
Afterfest jam session hosted by Ira Sullivan
8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, $20-$35, all ages
Ancient to the Future with Art “Turk” Burton, the Congo Square Ensemble, and Ernest Dawkins
6 PM, Northeastern Illinois University, Carruthers Center, 700 E. Oakwood, free, all ages
Tuesdays on the Terrace with Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few
5:30 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago, free, all ages
Lucas Gillan’s Many Blessings
9 PM, Cafe Mustache, 2313 N. Milwaukee, free, 21+
Mobile Vanguard, John Wojciechowski Trio
Night two of the inaugural Anagram Festival. 9 PM, Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey, second floor, $10, all ages
Preservation of Fire night one with Resavoir, Isaiah Spencer Collective
8 PM, Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan, free, all ages
Andrew Vogt’s Page1 plays the music of Joe Henderson
9:30 PM, the Whistler, 9:30 PM, 2421 N. Milwaukee, free, 21+
Wednesday, August 28
Afterfest jam session hosted by Ira Sullivan
8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, $20-$35, all ages
Paul Giallorenzo Trio plays Herbie Nichols’s Love, Gloom, Cash, Love
9 PM, Fulton Street Collective, 1812 W. Hubbard, suite 307, $10 suggested donation, all ages
Heavy Air Happy Hour with Bill MacKay, Paul Giallorenzo, Andrew Scott Young
6 PM, Cafe Mustache, 2313 N. Milwaukee, $5-$10, 21+
Jeff Parker & the New Breed, Ava Mendoza’s Unnatural Ways
Part of the Dog/Days series. 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $15, $12 in advance, 18+
Preservation of Fire night two with the Eliel Sherman Storey Quartet, Angel Bat Dawid & the Brothahood
9 PM, Transition East Studio, 2548 E. 83rd, free, all ages
Summer Jazz at the Harris with Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad
6 PM, Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph, $15-$25, all ages
A Tribute to the King: A Celebration of the 100th Birthday of Nat “King” Cole with Bruce Henry & Henry Johnson plus students from the Musical Arts Institute
6 PM, Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th, free, all ages
Thursday, August 29
Afterfest jam session hosted by Ira Sullivan
9 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, $20-$35, all ages
Vincent Chancey/Josh Berman/Jakob Heinemann/Marcus Evans
Part of the Dog/Days series. 9:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, free, 18+
Samuel Mösching Quartet performs John Coltrane’s Crescent
8 PM, Fulton Street Collective, 1812 W. Hubbard, suite 307, $10 suggested donation, all ages
~Nois, Dave Rempis Quartet
6 PM, Fred Anderson Park, 1611 S. Wabash, free, all ages
Rempis/Parker/Håker Flaten/Cunningham
9 PM, Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey, second floor, $10, all ages
Trumpet Summit
9:30 and 11:30 PM, Andy’s, 11 E. Hubbard, $10, 21+
Friday, August 30
Afterfest jam session hosted by Ira Sullivan
9 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, $20-$35, all ages
After-hours quartet jam session featuring Eric Schneider
1 AM, Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway, free, 21+
Lufuki & Divine Providence, Participatory Music Coalition
9 PM, Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey, second floor, $10, all ages
Mazzarella/Håker Flaten/Ra Trio
Part of the Dog/Days series. 9:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, free, 18+
Sax to the Bone featuring Mike Smith and Tom Garling
9:30 and 11:30 PM, Andy’s, 11 E. Hubbard, $15, 21+
Ben Sidran
9 PM, Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway, $15, 21+
Woolgathering Records showcase with Pollinator, Mannerist, Open Water as a Child, Headlands
9 PM, Sleeping Village, 3734 W. Belmont, free, 21+
Saturday, August 31
AACM Great Black Music Ensemble
2 PM, Fred Anderson Park, 1611 S. Wabash, free, all ages
Afterfest jam session hosted by Ira Sullivan
9 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, $20-$35, all ages
After-hours jazz party hosted by Pat Mallinger and company
midnight, Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway, $5, 21+
Alyssa Allgood Quartet performs a night of Dinah Washington
8:30 PM, Fulton Street Collective, 1812 W. Hubbard, suite 307, 8:30 PM, $10 suggested donation, all ages
Kidd Jordan, Douglas Ewart, Jim Baker, Kent Kessler, Mike Reed
Part of the Dog/Days series. 9 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $15, 18+
Sax to the Bone featuring Mike Smith and Tom Garling
9:30 and 11:30 PM, Andy’s, 11 E. Hubbard, $15, 21+
Ben Sidran
8 PM, Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway, $15, 21+
Hanah Jon Taylor Artet and guests
Part of Hothouse’s Legendary Jazz Fest Aftersets. 9 PM, the Hyde, 5115 S. Harper, $20, 21+
Sunday, September 1
AACM Great Black Music Ensemble
5 PM, Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island, free, all ages
Afterfest jam session hosted by Ira Sullivan
9 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, $20-$35, all ages
Kidd Jordan, Douglas Ewart, Jim Baker, Kent Kessler, Mike Reed
Part of the Dog/Days series. 9 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, $15 suggested donation, 21+
Chad McCullough Orchestra performs Miles Davis’s Porgy & Bess
8:30 PM, Fulton Street Collective, 1812 W. Hubbard, suite 307, $15 suggested donation, all ages v
