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.

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Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite

Symphony Center

Eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist, bandleader and host of NPR’s “Jazz Night in America,” Christian McBride brings his monumental musical tribute inspired by the words of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali and President Barack Obama. “When the suite soars, it follows the bandleader’s strengths, known for his ebullient precision — his joy in the details — and for savoring the nectar inside swing rhythm” (DownBeat).

Christian McBride’s The Movement Revisited

In August 1979, the ensemble was the opening band on the first night of the First Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. 44 years later, the CJO stands as not only the oldest professional big band in Chicago, but also the second oldest professional civic jazz orchestra in the United States (second only to the Columbus Jazz Orchestra).

Chicago Jazz Orchestra feat. Paul Marinaro

Jazz Showcase

Chicago Jazz Orchestra feat. Eric Schneider

Chicago Jazz Orchestra feat. Mardra Thomas

Chicago Jazz Orchestra feat.  Victor Garcia

Chicago Jazz Orchestra feat. Denise Thimes

Chicago Jazz Orchestra feat. John Campbell

Chicago Jazz Orchestra

Chicago Jazz Orchestra feat. Thaddeus Tukes

Chicago Jazz Orchestra

Jun 13, 2025

Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite

Feb 2, 2024

Christian McBride’s The Movement Revisited

Chicago Jazz Orchestra