Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians turned 50 in 2015, and celebrations of this influential collective have been popping off worldwide all year—here in town, exhibits honoring the AACM’s impact have opened at the DuSable Museum of African American History and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The 37th annual Chicago Jazz Festival marks this auspicious anniverary with performances by four AACM-related groups: Douglas Ewart & Inventions, the Jeff Parker Trio, Steve & Iqua Colson, and Muhal Richard Abrams’s Experimental Band. The Experimental Band set—Sunday’s marquee event and the capstone of the festival—features most of the AACM’s greatest living figures, including Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, Wadada Leo Smith, and Amina Claudine Myers.
Chicago Cultural Center: Claudia Cassidy Theater
12:15 PM | Andrew Trim’s Hanami Quartet
Thu 9/3 12:15-9 PM, Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington) and Millennium Park (201 E. Randolph)
Fri 9/4-Sun 9/6 12:30 PM-9:30 PM, Millennium Park (201 E. Randolph)
Millennium Park stages: Pritzker Pavilion, the Von Freeman Pavilion (on the south promenade), the Jazz & Heritage Pavilion (on the north promenade), and the Young Jazz Lions Pavilion (on the roof of the Harris Theater).
All shows are free and open to all ages. More details at chicagojazzfestival.us.
Chicago singer Lucy Smith brings R&B polish to jazz standards, soul numbers, and original tunes. Her working band, Autumn in Augusta, features drummer Marcus Evans, pianist Marcin Fahmy, and bassist Joshua Ramos. —Peter Margasak
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
6:30 PM | Marquis Hill Blacktet
One of the hardest-working and most talented young saxophonists in town, Rajiv Halim has just released Foundation, his overdue debut as a leader. His agile band—trumpeter Shaun Johnson, guitarist Scott Hesse, bassist Junius Paul, and drummer Michael Piolet—bring brisk, hard-hitting energy to his soulful postbop themes. —Peter Margasak
3:30 PM | Craig Taborn Trio
