2010 Hyde Park Jazz Fest Performances at Midway Plaisance

Tenants peeked out of apartments, cars slowed down and headphones fell on shoulders when Hyde Park visitors heard the instrumentals coming from the Hyde Park Art Center located at 5020 South Cornell Ave, in addition to the other 12 locations for the annual event on Sept. 25. The Hyde Park Alliance for Arts & Culture (HyPa) celebrated its fourth annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and even though the weather settled in the 60s and sprinkles of rain surfaced all day, visitors grabbed their umbrellas and sat down or hid near doorways.

Performances from the Hyde Park Art Center included Josh Moshier and Mike Lebrun Quintet from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Ernest Dawkins Organ Trio from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Brad Goode Quartet from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free CDs were given away by filling out raffle tickets.

The 13-hour annual festival ran from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. Although concerts ended earlier at the Hyde Park Art Center, attendants kept the party going by getting on the color-coded shuttle buses that drove past their assigned stops from the 13-venue selection. Some locations, like the International House, had performances until the morning hours.

At the Midway Plaisance's James W. Wagner Stage, attendees posed in front of an Obama cardboard cutout of the presidential couple wearing Hyde Park Jazz Festival T-shirts and carrying lime green Hyde Park bags. The lucky JazzPass owners picked up their front-row seating IDs at the HyPa table, and volunteers in lime green strolled around answering questions and helping bands.

The 2010 Hyde Park Jazz Festival also had two tribute performances, Mwata Bowden and The Great Black Music Ensemble in "A Tribute to Fred Anderson" and Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchestra "A Tribute to Ray Charles and The Raelettes" at the James W. Wagner Stage.

Other performers at alternate locations included the University of Chicago Jazz X-tet; U-High Lab Tet; Art Hoyle Quintet; Bill McFarland and The Chicago Horns; James Wagner All Stars; Steve Flowers and Roger Harris Duet; Bethany Pickens Trio; Rio Bamba; Charlie Johnson Quartet; Robert Irving III Quintet; John Wright Quartet; Maurice Brown; CALJE with Darwin Noguera and Victor Garcia; Nicole Mitchell and the Black Earth Ensemble; Brad Goode Quartet; Reginald R. Robinson with special guests Cerqua Rivera Dancers; Rhythm of Thunder with Charles Heath, Ernie Adams and Dana Hall; John Burnett Orchestra with Frieda Lee; Willie Pickens Trio; Curtis Black Quartet; Bobby Lewis Jazz Quintet; Two for Brazil with pualinho Garcia and Greg Fishman; Orbert Davis Quintet; Henry Johnson Contemporary Jazz Quintet (CJQ); Diane "Lil Sax" Elis and The Jazzy Ladies; Greg Spero Quartet; The Business: Latin Jazz; Maggie Brown Quartet; La Excelencia World Music Festival; Columbia College Vocal Jazz Ensemble with Dana Hall; Dana Hall's spring and Dee Alexander hosting the Midnight Jam Session.

For more info:

2010 Hyde Park Jazz Festival

Hyde Park Art Center

HyPa 2010 Calendar of events

HyPa Chicago

HyPa Passport to Jazz

Jazz Pass donation purchase

Additional HyPa events:

"Alumni weekend at University of Chicago, four jazz events to go before 2010 Hyde Park Jazz Fest"

"Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre and Reginald Robinson perform Jubilation 2010, HyPa jazz event"

"Corey Wilkes Quartet bring funk, jazz and soul to HyPa jazz event at Smart Museum of Art"

"Eric Schneider's Hot Dixieland Quartet performs at The Oriental Institute for HyPa jazz event"

"Hyde Park Art Center has 'Cocktails and Clay' HyPa event with Frank Russell Trio"

"Jazz lovers visited Hyde Park for 'Smart Sounds featuring Julia Huff' at 16th HyPa event"

"Nicole Mitchell and Little Black Pearl artists at HyPa event, 'Intergalactic Beings' pre-performance"

"Pianist Reginald Robinson brings ragtime to the Oriental Institute for HyPa event"

"Saxophonist Eddie Johnson's memory honored by Chicago Jazz Orchestra at HyPa event"

2009 Hyde Park Jazz Festival blogs:

"Accidental jazz fan" (also on AC)

"Chicago's Hyde Park Jazz Festival 2009 was a success, Richie Cole turned it out"

"Chicago's Hyde Park Jazz Festival brings the melody this Saturday"

"Top 10 kissing spots in Chicago"