In a less imperfect world, Millennium Park would be hosting the 44th annual Chicago Jazz Festival right about now. As of 2019, the festival had been held in downtown parks for an unbroken string of 41 years. Thanks to COVID-19, though, it was canceled in 2020 and 2021. The first summer of the pandemic, the […]
Tag: Miguel Zenón
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival takes a step back toward normalcy
The 15th Hyde Park Jazz Festival, which took place last Saturday and Sunday, may have been the best ever. That’s a tall statement, given how many great ones there have been—but it’s less about ranking favorites and more about how good it felt to see such a beloved event getting back to its old self. […]
Saxophonist Miguel Zenón interprets the music of legendary salsa singer Ismael “Maelo” Rivera
Saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón is a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient who creates jazz that moves seamlessly between the experimental and the folkloric in an ongoing exploration of his Puerto Rican identity. Many of his 12 studio albums as a bandleader reference and highlight diverse arrays of the island’s genres and musical figures without ever […]
12 O’Clock Track: ‘Minguito,’ sophisticated tango nuevo from Julien Labro and Spektral Quartet
A collaboration between the French accordionist and the local string quartet
The rise of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival
The sixth annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival opens up its artistic parameters