3rd Annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival (FREE!)

By Alexander Hough in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 24, 2009 4:20PM

Wedged in among lawn chairs, trying to tune out nearby conversations so you can concentrate on an amplified band you can't even see is no way to experience a jazz concert. There are lots of good things about the Chicago Jazz Festival -- and it did still manage to pull off a good weekend this year in spite of budget cuts -- but it's better suited for a set-up like the almost-over World Music Festival, with many events spread across the city, rather than the outdoor festival model.

Enter the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. The free, one-day festival concentrating on the local jazz scene begins at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday and continues until 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning with performances at thirteen locations throughout Hyde Park. The performance areas are all in the neighborhood, and while everything is within walking distance, transportation between shows is offered. The downside of the large number of venues is that you'll have to make tough choices you might not have to make at the Chicago Jazz Festival - Jon Faddis or Sax in the City? Dee Alexander or Willie Pickens? Tatsu Aoki or Corey Wilkes? - but we can think of worse ordeals.

The festival unofficially begins tomorrow night with a performance by two-time Grammy award-winner (most recently for the 2009 Best Jazz Vocal Album) Cassandra Wilson at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. Unlike Saturday's events, this one will cost money. It's not cheap (tickets start at $20), but if you have the funds to spare, it'll be worth hearing Wilson's performance, which will include a new original composition performed with the aid of some of the local teenagers who've attended her workshops over the past two weeks.

More information on all this weekend's activities can be found on the festival's website. The schedule can be found as a list here or as a grid here. They've also harnessed the power of Google Maps to show you where the various venues are.

One additional word about all those venues: Seating is limited, so if there's an act you'd really like to see, try to show up early. The inaugural festival in 2007 drew 5,000, and 15,000 came last year. The Hyde Park Jazz Festival isn't flying under the radar, so expect similar attendance inflation.

Various locations throughout Hyde Park, Saturday, September 26, at 11:00 a.m., FREE; Cassandra Wilson performs at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn, Friday, September 25, at 8:00 p.m., $20 - $100