Asian Improv aRts Midwest (AIRMW), directed by multi-instrumentalist and media artist Tatsu Aoki, presents the 30th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival at Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave., #208, at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 7-10.
“AIRMW is committed to advancing the understanding and profile of Asian American cultures through the traditional and contemporary cultural arts,” says Aoki. “We are proud of our history of producing high quality arts programs reflecting the multicultural, multi-ethnic reality of Chicago and the nation. For three decades, this annual festival, and especially this year’s program, are perfect examples of that mission in action.”
Pictured: the MIYUMI Project. Photo by Kishino Takagishi
The 30th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival schedule is as follows. All events take place at Elastic Arts unless otherwise noted. Schedule/artists are subject to change:
Friday, Nov. 7
8:30-9:30 p.m., Set 1 - Francis Wong and Chicago Time Code
9:30-10:30, Set 2 - Jeff Chan and Ratchet
Saturday, Nov. 8
Time TBD: Panel Discussion at AIRMW, 4875 N. Elston Ave.– Panelist roster TBD
8:30-9:30 p.m., Set 1 - Ester Hana
9:30-10:30 p.m. Set 2 - Yoko Noge and Jazz Me Blues
Sunday, Nov. 9
8:30-9:30 p.m., Set 1 – Chien-an Yuan and All Things Shining
9:30-10:30 p.m. Set 2 – Mai Sugimoto, Haruhi Kobayashi and Kioto Aoki
Monday, Nov. 10
8:30-9:30 p.m. and 9:30-10:30 p.m. - the MIYUMI Project
The Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival (CAAJF) is a program of Asian Improv aRts Midwest (AIRMW) and is supported by general operating support received from the Illinois Arts Council Agency; the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; the Alphawood Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), The Field Foundation, the Walder Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and a special project grant from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Tickets
AIRMW presents the 30th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival Friday, Nov. 7 through Monday, Nov. 10. All concerts take place at Elastic Arts, 208, 3429 W. Diversey Ave. Tickets are $20 and will be available at the door only (cash and credit card accepted). $10 tickets are
available to students with ID. A panel discussion is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 8 at AIRMW, 4875 N. Elston Ave. For more information, visit www.airmw.org
Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival programming will also be featured at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in September as follows:
Saturday, Sept. 27
1 p.m. Nikutai Mondo Trio, at the Logan Center Penthouse, 915 E. 60th St.
4:30 p.m. Asian American Jazz Fest 30th Anniversary Panel at the Logan Center
2nd Fl.:Screening Room/Gallery, 915 E. 60th St.
Sunday, Sept.28
3 p.m. Chicago Asian-American Ensemble: “Origins of Now 2025” at the West Stage
Midway Plaisance / S. Ellis Ave.
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is free but a donation of $10 per person is appreciated. For more information visit hydeparkjazzfestival.org.
The 30th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival precedes AIRMW’s “Reduction 11” concert co-presented by Asian Improv aRts Midwest / Tsukasa Taiko and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 19; and “Taiko Legacy 22” concert presented by Asian Improv aRts Midwest / Tsukasa Taiko at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20. Both concerts will take place at the Edlis Neeson Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art
Chicago, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets go on sale at a later date. For more information, visit mcachicago.org.
Asian Improv aRts Midwest’s (AIRMW) mission is to build a vital, self-empowered Asian American Community in the Chicago area by advancing the understanding and profile of Asian American cultures through the traditional and contemporary cultural arts. Through in-house programs and collaborative projects, AIRMW is dedicated to creating productive relationships with artists, communities and institutions. It continuously strives to maintain the responsibility of professionalism as part of cultural preservation by producing high quality arts programs that accurately reflect the multicultural, multi-ethnic reality of Chicago and the nation.
In 1984 Chicago artist and community leader Tatsu Aoki founded Innocent Eyes and Lenses (IEL) in response to the need for an organization dedicated to presenting Asian American artists and programs that were relevant to the community. In 2004 IEL was renamed Asian Improv aRts
Midwest to reflect the community the organization was serving and recognize the 20-year partnership with the West Coast-based Asian Improv aRts. In 2022, thanks in part to community supporters, members and the Chicago Cultural Treasures Grant by IFF, AIRMW was able to purchase a permanent home at 4875 N. Elston. The space officially opened in February 2023 and houses the company’s administration offices and rehearsal space and is the site for classes and select special events. For more information visit www.airmw.org.
Tatsu Aoki is a prolific composer and performer of traditional and experimental music forms, a filmmaker, and an educator. In May 2018, Aoki was honored as the first recipient of the “George Award,” for his years of support, recording, and performance with renowned American Jazz and soul guitarist George Freeman. As Executive Director of AIRMW, an Asian American cultural arts presenter organization, Aoki has initiated and managed several programs to advance the understanding of traditional arts and community through the arts, including the annual Chicago
Asian American Jazz Festival, the Tsukasa Taiko Legacy, and the Toyoakimoto Shamisen residency projects. Aoki was selected by the Asian American Advisory Council of Illinois in 2017 for the Community Service Award from the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White. He also received the prestigious Commendation for the Promotion of Japanese Culture from the Foreign Ministry in Japan, which is given to individuals with outstanding achievements in international fields and acknowledges the recipient’s contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries.
Aoki's ensemble, The MIYUMI Project, is one of the longest-standing amalgams of Chicago's avant-garde jazz and Japanese traditional music. Drawing from aesthetics rooted in the Japanese tradition and Japanese taiko drumming permeate the laboratory of sound where he explores the nexus of cultures: Asian and American; Japanese and African; past and present. The improvised compositions provide a conceptual framework for each band member to interpret, which in turn coalesces and transforms into a vast contemporary expanse of musical immersion for the audience. Over the past two decades, each successive grouping of MIYUMI Project musicians has contributed to the unique blending of modern application with a traditional sensibility. The final result is a continuous evolution of a "live and raw" musical happening.
Asian Improv aRts Midwest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is supported in part by general operating support from the Illinois Arts Counsel, a State Agency and the MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity and the Arts at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; as well as support
from the Alphawood Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Walder Foundation, Joyce Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.