CYSO’s Jazz Orchestra present their spring concert at Jazz Showcase.

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Jazz Orchestra Spring Concert

Jazz Showcase

Named “the hottest pianist in jazz” by The Guardian, Tigran Hamasyan’s jazz mastery—steeped in the folk rhythms of his Armenian heritage—meets the “creative fearlessness” and “reverent precision” (BBC Music Magazine) of GRAMMY-winning Chicago ensemble, Third Coast Percussion. Known for their kinetic precision and daring collaborations, Third Coast brings a percussive fire to Hamasyan’s blend of jazz improvisation and folk-inspired melodies. Together, they craft a bold, rhythm-fueled experience that pushes sound and musical form to their limits.

Tigran Hamasyan & Third Coast Percussion

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts

The Julia Keefe Indigenous Jazz Ensemble is rewriting jazz history—one long-overdue note at a time. Drawing from deep-rooted Indigenous musical traditions and the untold legacy of Native jazz pioneers, the ensemble transforms traditional songs and rhythms into bold new works infused with the language of jazz. Led by vocalist Julia Keefe and co-director Delbert Anderson, the band is a rare and vibrant force: an ensemble of Indigenous musicians claiming their place in jazz’s past, present, and future. With a lineup spanning North and South America and a mission to uplift the next generation, they honor a rich jazz lineage while forging new sonic pathways.

Julia Keefe Indigenous Jazz Ensemble

In “Music from Film Noir – A Femme Fatale’s Songbook,” jazz vocalist Petra van Nuis conjures the smoky world of noir through shadowy torch songs featured in films of the genre. Backed by guitarist Andy Brown’s trio, Petra invites audiences on a cinematic journey into a mysterious and seductive world of seedy nightclubs, dangerous romances, and streets glistening with midnight rain.

Music From Film Noir - A Femme Fatale's Songbook

Copernicus Center

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ_ZQW5C2pw&amp;t=2s

The Artelize Podcast Presenting Will Shutes: 'Bring it down out of the clouds to human being level'

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFe6mW6x9pc

The Artelize Podcast: 'Amplifying What Makes Us Human'. A conversation with Zuly E. Inirio

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

A Jazz Lounge Collection with Celebrated Vocalist Elaine Dame

Join Elaine for an evening of hip, soulful, and swinging vibes. Featuring fresh reimaginings of jazz classics and hidden gems, Elaine will be supported by an intimate jazz ensemble.

A Jazz Lounge Collection with Celebrated Vocalist Elaine Dame

Ring in the holiday season with Sarah Marie Young playing selections from her holiday album, “The Most Wonderful Time” with Kent Wehman on piano and Josh Ramos on bass. From swing standards to heartfelt original compositions, Sarah Marie Young’s music will make you feel cozy and warm on this special December evening.

Strictly Chicago: Christmas Music and Cocktails

Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture

Rising star Jimmy Farace brings his original music and arrangements to the stage in an exciting trio format. He’s joined by two legends of the Chicago jazz scene: drummer Dana Hall and GRAMMY Award–winning bassist/composer Clark Sommers.

This performance offers a rare chance to hear Farace’s music live just days before the group documents it in the studio—an intimate preview of a sound that blends bold improvisation, deep interplay, and forward-looking creativity with the spirit of Chicago jazz.

Jimmy Farace Trio

The only concert in Chicago!

Two musical worlds – one sound: Leszek Możdżer & Zohar Fresco live on one stage!

A Musical Dialogue That Transcends Borders

A unique duo of virtuosos from distant musical worlds — geographically, philosophically, and culturally — comes together to create a new, shared sound.

Although their traditions differ greatly, they’ve found a common musical language. By blending Far Eastern percussion artistry with European-style improvised music, they create a mystical fusion full of depth, emotion, and sonic exploration.

Culture Connects - Leszek Możdżer And Zohar Fresco In Concert

Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer, Ruslan Sirota has performed and/or recording with the likes of Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Bob Mintzer, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat and Josh Groban. Joins Sirota and his trio for a night of original compositions and tight-knit arrangements of classics.

Ruslan Sirota Trio in the Gateway Lounge

CYSO’s Jazz Orchestra presents their fall concert at Jazz Showcase.

Jazz Orchestra Fall Concert

Sullivan Fortner doesn’t just play piano—he bends it to his will. This GRAMMY-winning musical shape-shifter merges New Orleans grit with fearless invention, twisting jazz traditions into something raw and urgent. His 2024 solo release Solo Game strips jazz to its bones, earning four-star raves from DownBeat and Télérama. 

With his band, Fortner celebrates the cosmic chaos of Sun Ra, channeling the icon’s boundary-smashing spirit through kinetic rhythms and searching harmonies. No pretense, no safety nets—just firebrand jazz at its most alive.

Sullivan Fortner & His Galactic Friends

Logan Center

Steve Schneck grew up in New York with jazz and classical music in the background and a photo of Louis Armstrong in his bedroom. From the beginning, his mother wanted Steve to be a trumpet player. After learning to play the ukulele (from his Dad) and piano (from his Mom), Steve began studying trumpet at age 9 and he’s been playing the trumpet and flugelhorn for more than 50 years. Steve’s mother taught classical piano, and his father played folk guitar. His extended family, including 4 generations of mandolin players, regularly played music whenever they got together, and they still do.

Steve Schneck Quartet

The Gentlemen of Leisure Band and Review, affectionately known as the ‘Gents,’ offer a musical smorgasbord to satisfy even the most discrete of palates.  YES!  They are back again for the Taste of Polonia Festival.  So popular!

From the top 40 to popular music, from Jazz to Hip-Hop, from Motown to the best of Pop, they do it all!   Their reputation and quality of music carry far in Chicago, an can be best described by their reviews.

The Gentlemen of Leisure

In a rare live performance, Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite is presented by an all-star ensemble including his protégé Benny Green and led by legendary composer and arranger John Clayton. The suite, inspired in part by Nelson Mandela and the intense struggle for human rights in apartheid South Africa, accentuates Peterson’s “technically brilliant and melodically inventive” (All About Jazz) style and reverence for social justice activism.

Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite

Symphony Center

Grammy-winning pianist, singer and Brazilian superstar Eliane Elias “sings like an angel, plays like the devil and is renowned for the sumptuous sparkling eloquence she brings to jazz” (Icon Magazine). She seamlessly intertwines straight-ahead jazz and Afro-Latin rhythms like samba and bossa nova. Colombian-born jazz harpist Edmar Castañeda performs original compositions and interpretations of traditional Colombian songs from his album Family — nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Best Latin Jazz Album category.

Eliane Elias / Edmar Castañeda: Family

The Arun Ramamurthy Trio seamlessly fuses South Indian Carnatic classical and contemporary jazz into an unpredictably lively instrumental storm of sound. Aiming to simultaneously revitalize traditional forms and to build cross-genre partnerships, the collective of Arun Ramamurthy on violin, Sameer Gupta on drums, and Damon Banks on electric bass, perform music that finds spiritual buoyancy in evocative Raga-like strings and drive in its propulsive rhythm section. This full-length concert at the South Asia Institute serves as the Chicago premiere of the band's latest LP, New Moon Suite. Commissioned by Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works, the four-movement work showcases Ramamurthy's penchant for cultural connection and lyrically told stories of migration and shines a light on the teachings and wisdom of our ancestors. The trio has been selling out their east coast shows and this will be part of the trio’s first Midwest tour. Ramamurthy has previously performed traditional carnatic classical music in Chicago, at South Asian Institute and as part of Ragamala and Chicago’s String Summit festivals.

Arun Ramamurthy Trio Jazz Concert

South Asia Institute

Combining a joyful swing feel with an impeccable touch, Steinway Artist Ben Paterson has established himself as one of the most exciting pianists on the Jazz scene today, garnering international acclaim for his superb musicianship and engaging performances.  Originally from Philadelphia, Ben studied both classical and jazz music before moving to the great city of Chicago, absorbing the unique blend of Jazz and Blues that can only be found in the Windy City.  Now based in New York, Ben is poised to bring his unique talents and style to a wider audience, performing regularly at top notch venues around town, and at clubs and festivals around the world.

Ben Paterson Organ Trio feat. Bobby Broom

Dakarai Barclay is a trumpet player and educator based in Chicago, Illinois. With each performance,  Dakarai seeks to pay homage to the origins of Black American music, in all its forms, and those whose legacies we are indebted to. Outside of leading his own projects, Dakarai has played with musicians such as Willerm Delisfort, Winard Harper, Marlene Rosenberg, Jarrard Harris, Ernest Dawkins, Emma Blau and many more.

Dakarai Barclay Sextet

New York bassist/composer and bandleader Ben Wolfe’s music has been described as “Mingus and Miles Davis meet Bartok and Bernard Herrmann” (Ben Ratliff - The New York Times). With acclaim by some of the jazz world’s most respected critics, Wolfe continues to produce works that draw top-flight reviews from fans and jazz journalists alike.

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Copernicus Center

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Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras

Sullivan Fortner & His Ga...

UChicago Presents

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Jazz Showcase

The Gentlemen of Leisure

Copernicus Center

Oscar Peterson’s Africa S...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Eliane Elias / Edmar Cast...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

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South Asia Institute

Ben Paterson Organ Trio f...

Jazz Showcase

Dakarai Barclay Sextet

Jazz Showcase

Ben Wolfe Trio

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Jazz Showcase