The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is pleased to announce the 2025 HPJF lineup. The 19th Annual Festival will once again be held in architecturally unique venues across the Hyde Park, Kenwood, and Washington Park neighborhoods. The Festival lineup features 34 FREE performances on September 27th-28th, 2025. The program includes visiting national artists alongside some of Chicago’s brightest lights. Venues include: Smart Museum, Rockefeller Chapel, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Hyde Park Bank, Hyde Park Union Church, The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, Augustana Church, and the Midway Plaisance.
Special guest and visiting musician projects include: Trio Imagination featuring Reggie Workman (bass), Andrew Cyrille (drums), and David Virelles (piano); Carl Allen and The Messengers of Jazz: Tribute to Art Blakey featuring Donald Harrison (alto saxophone), Billy Pierce (tenor saxophone), Brian Lynch (trumpet), Geoffrey Keezer (piano), Alexander Claffy (double bass), and Carl Allen (drums); Fay Victor’s Herbie Nichols SUNG featuring Fay Victor (voice, lyrics, conception), Anthony Coleman (piano), Michael Attias (alto/baritone saxophone), Ratzo Harris (double bass), and Tom Rainey (drums); former Chicagoan Maurice “MoBetta” Brown will bring his home town energy; Dana Hall will present a new trio with guest Aaron Goldberg (piano) and long-time collaborator Clark Sommer (bass); Dee Alexander will bring her Evolution Ensemble for a reunion featuring Dee Alexander (vocals), Kevin King (tenor sax), Scott Hesse (guitar), Junius Paul (bass), Yusef Ernie Adams (drums); and emerging drummer and composer Lily Finnegan will present her quartet with Chicago stalwarts Edward Wilkerson Jr. (tenor saxophone), Fred Jackson Jr. (alto saxophone), and Nick Macri (bass). The 2025 Festival will close out with a celebratory set by the Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int'l
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will celebrate several milestones and special projects in the program. This includes the 60th Anniversary of the Association of the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM); the 30th Anniversary of the Asian American Jazz Festival; and the 70th Birthday of drummer Hamid Drake. The Festival is also partnering with the Smart Museum to present performances in connection to the Theaster Gates exhibition Unto Thee.
The annual Rockefeller Chapel performance will be an hour earlier this year to close Saturday’s activities and will feature a very special solo performance by critically acclaimed pianist Jason Moran. Moran will perform his solo project, Jason Moran Presents Duke Ellington: My Heart Sings. The Rockefeller Chapel will be an exquisite setting for this not-to-be-missed performance.
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is FREE but we ask attendees to consider a $10 per person donation so we can continue to support Jazz on the South Side! Performances on Saturday, September 27th run from 1pm-11pm in multiple venues. Performances on Sunday, September 28th run from 1pm-7pm on the Midway Plaisance.
For additional information on the performing artists and the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, please visit our website www.hydeparkjazzfestival.org. Full schedule is below.
2025 Hyde Park Jazz Festival Schedule
For bios and photos visit hydeparkjazzfestival.org
Contact lnduval12@gmail.com for more specific information
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Logan Center Performance Hall (915 E. 60th St.)
3:15pm-4:15pm Hamid Drake Quartet
5:15pm-6:15pm Fay Victor’s Herbie Nichols SUNG
7:30pm-8:30pm Trio Imagination (Cyrille, Virelles, Workman)
Logan Center Performance Penthouse (915 E. 60th St.)
1:00pm-1:45pm Nikutai Mondo Trio
2:15pm-3:00pm Nikutai Mondo Trio
4:00pm-5:00pm Dana Hall Trio feat. Aaron Goldberg and Clark Sommers
6:15pm-7:15pm Paul Giallorenzo Trio
Logan Center Screening Room & 2nd Floor Gallery (915 E. 60th St)
4:00pm-9:00pm Lauren Deutsch and Jonathan Woods’ Tangible Sound: A Visual Celebration of Great Black Music (2nd fl gallery)
4:30pm-5:30pm Asian American Jazz Festival 30th Anniversary Panel
6:00pm-7:00pm Hamid Drake 70th Birthday Celebration Discussion
Wagner Stage (Midway Plaisance/S. Woodlawn Ave.)
1:30pm-2:30pm Micah Collier and Proximity
3:30pm-4:30pm Quentin Coaxum "Midwestern Springs"
5:45pm-6:45pm Dee Alexander’s Evolution Ensemble Reunion
8:15pm-9:30pm Carl Allen & The Messengers of Jazz:Tribute to Art Blakey
West Stage (Midway Plaisance/S. Ellis Ave.)
2:30pm-3:30pm La Cantera featuring Richard Pena
4:30pm-5:45pm JuJu Exchange
7:00pm-8:15pm Maurice “MoBetta” Brown
Hyde Park Union Church (5600 S. Woodlawn Ave.)
2:00pm-3:00pm Ryan Cohan Two Quartets
4:00pm-5:00pm Lily Finnegan’s Heat On
Hyde Park Bank (1525 E. 53rd St.)
4:00pm-5:00pm Love Call (Bessen, Drobka, Philion)
6:00pm-7:00pm Alyssa Allgood Quintet
DuSable Black History Museum & Education Center (740 E. 56 Pl.)
2:00pm-3:00pm Fred Jackson Jr.’s “Where’s Charlie?”
3:45pm-4:45pm Julius Tucker Trio
Rockefeller Chapel (5850 S. Woodlawn Ave.)
10:00pm-11:00pm Jason Moran Presents Duke Ellington: My Heart Sings (solo)
Augustana Church (5500 S. Woodlawn Ave.)
3:00pm-4:00pm 2 Brown Sisters: Africa and Maggie Brown
5:00pm-6:00pm Soul Message Trio featuring Chris Foreman
Smart Museum (5550 S. Greenwood Ave)
1:00pm-2:00pm Isaiah Spencer Quartet
3:00pm-4:00pm Modern Black Music Ensemble
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Logan Screening Room and 2nd Floor Gallery (915 E. 60th St.)
2:00pm-7:00pm Lauren Deutsch and Jonathan Woods’ Tangible Sound: A Visual Celebration of Great Black Music (2nd fl gallery)
Wagner Stage (Midway Plaisance/S. Woodlawn Ave.)
2:00pm-3:00pm Jo Ann Daugherty Trio w/Bruce Henry
4:00pm-5:00pm Ari Brown Quintet
6:00pm-7:00pm Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int'l.
West Stage (Midway Plaisance/S. Ellis Ave.)
1:00pm-2:00pm Kenwood Academy Big Band
3:00pm-4:00pm Chicago Asian American Ensemble: Origins of Now 2025
5:00pm-6:00pm Billy Branch and The Sons of Blues