Some Good Vibes at the Chicago Jazz Festival!

The 36th annual Chicago Jazz Festival wraps up today with performances beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Chicago Community Trust Young Jazz Lions Pavilion and culminating with the Sun Ra Arkestra taking stage at 8:30 p.m. at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

Paulinho Garcia Quintet performing at the Chicago Cultural Center's Preston Bradley Hall during the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival in Chicago, Illinois I had the opportunity to enjoy the Paulinho Garcia Quintet performance on Thursday, August 28, at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall.  The quintet featured Paulinho Garcia (guitar and vocals), Heitor Garcia (percussion), Geraldo de Oliveira (percussion), Dedé Sampaio (drums), and Greg Fishman (saxophone).  The music was beautiful.  However, what I really enjoyed was watching the excitement and enthusiasm on the faces of the musicians.  I could see they love what they do!

David Boykin Expanse performing at the Chicago Cultural Center's Claudia Cassidy Theater during the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival in Chicago, Illinois A convenient stroll down the hall to the Claudia Cassidy Theater brought me to a performance by a special 10-piece version of David Boykin Expanse.  The group included Josh Abrams (bass), James Baker (piano), David Boykin (saxophone), Marcus Evans (drums), Dan Godston (trumpet), Nicole Mitchell (flute), Jayve Montgomery (saxophone), Shanta Nurullah (bass), Eliel Sherman Storey (saxophone), and Alex Wing (guitar).  This performance was free form jazz with Mr. Boykin often improvising by directing the various artists to begin playing, to stop playing, and to solo.  There was some strong feedback the first time the flute was played and it was very loud when everyone was playing at the same time.  A larger venue may have been better for this group.

Ari Brown Quintet performing at Millennium Park's Jay Pritzker Pavilion during the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival in Chicago, Illinois On Saturday, August 30, I had the pleasure of seeing the Ari Brown Quintet perform at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion.  Members included Ari Brown (saxophone), Kirk Brown (piano), Yosef Ben Israel (bass), Avreeayl Ra (drums), and Dr. Cuz (percussion).  This was an enjoyable, toe-tapping, head-bopping performance.

Gary Burton (vibraphone), Vadim Neselovskyi (piano), Jorge Roeder (bass), Henry Cole (drums), and Julian Lage (guitar) performing at Millennium Park's Jay Pritzker Pavilion during the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival in Chicago, Illinois Up next that evening, vibraphonist Gary Burton performed with guitarist Julian Lage, pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Henry Cole.  These guys are good!  It truly felt like summer listening to this group perform, thanks in part to the vibraphone and electric guitar.  The warmth of summer accompanied by an occasional gentle breeze made for a great night to be at Pritzker Pavilion listening to music!

Vibraphonist Gary Burton performing at Millennium Park's Jay Pritzker Pavilion during the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival in Chicago, Illinois The jazz festival was an educational and inspirational experience for me.  I learned about jazz icon Sun Ra and enjoyed jazz performances ranging from the romantic jazz of the Paulinho Garcia Quintet to the free form jazz of David Boykin Expanse.  The passion, enthusiasm, and enjoyment I saw in the musicians as they performed inspired me.

There will be more music at the free World Music Festival Chicago, Thursday, September 11, through Sunday, September 21.  Events will take place throughout the city, with the northernmost venue at Willye B. White Park and the southernmost venue at Beverly Arts Center.  There will be performances for attendees to enjoy, but also the opportunity to take some dance lessons (as part of Chicago SummerDance).  Visit the World Music Festival Chicago website for a schedule and more information.