Somehow, Chicago’s jazz season gets busier, richer and more varied each year.
We’ve pared the list to the top 10, but with great difficulty:
KAHIL EL’ZABAR
Chicagoan El’Zabar leads a quartet at the 9th annual Englewood Jazz Festival, which also will feature the Isaiah Spencer Quintet and Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Straight Ahead. Noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, free. Hamilton Park, 513 W. 72nd St.; 312-742-7529.
WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
OK, it’s not strictly jazz, but the folkloric elements that course through most of the World Music Festival attractions hold immense appeal to jazz listeners (and others). The event opens Sept. 19 with Ensemble Al-Kindi & Whirling Dervishes of Damascus at Millennium Park and closes Sept. 25 with multiple acts appearing as “One World Under One Roof” at the Chicago Cultural Center. cityofchicago.org/worldmusic or 312-742-1938.
CHRIS POTTER
Is there a young jazz saxophonist who obliterates distinctions between mainstream and experimental music more ingeniously than Potter? Probably not. Sept. 25 through 28; $20. Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Ct.; jazzshowcase.com or 312-360-0234.
CASSANDRA WILSON
The most influential female vocalist in jazz also happens to be inimitable. She opens the Jazz at Symphony Center series performing from her new CD of standards, “Loverly.” 8 p.m. Sept. 26; $34-$129. Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; cso.org or 312-294-3000.
PATRICIA BARBER
A widely admired Chicago vocalist-pianist-bandleader, Barber celebrates the release of her latest CD, “The Cole Porter Mix” (Blue Note Records) with a featured engagement at the club where she typically plays Monday nights. 9 p.m. Sept. 26; 8 p.m. Sept. 27; $10-$15. Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway; greenmilljazz.com or 773-878-5552.
HYDE PARK JAZZ FESTIVAL
Headliners include ragtime piano genius Reginald Robinson, flutist Nicole Mitchell, saxophonist Fred Anderson, trumpeters Orbert Davis and Corey Wilkes, and vocalists Grazyna Auguscik, Dee Alexander and Maggie Brown. Starting noon Sept . 27; free. At various venues in Hyde Park; hydeparkjazzfestival.org or 773-834-4122.
‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME’
The annual gala concert of the Chicago Humanities Festival unfolds a few weeks before the fest this year.Jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves, cabaret diva Barbara Cook and classical singer Frederica von Stade appear on a triple bill. 8:30 p.m. Oct. 3; starting at $25. Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; chfestival.org or 312-494-9509.
CHICAGO JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Can Jeff Lindberg’s ensemble — previously known as the Jazz Members Big Band — possibly be 30 years old? Apparently so: The CJO marks the anniversary with “Exquisitely for Ella: A Songbook Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald featuring Dee Alexander, Spider Saloff and Frieda Lee.” 4 p.m. Oct. 19; $15-$45. Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave.; chicagojazzorchestra.com or 312-409-3947.
UMBRELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL
Experimental jazz artists from Chicago to Europe converge for the second annual event, with players such as Alexander von Schlippenbach, Douglas Ewart, Jeff Parker and John Tchicai playing venues across the city, including the Chicago Cultural Center and the Velvet Lounge. Nov. 5-9; umbrellamusic.org.
CHICAGO JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Jon Faddis’ band revisits Benny Goodman’s historic, 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, with the help of Paquito D’Rivera. 8 p.m. Dec. 12; $15-$45. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St.; chijazz.com or 312-334-7777.
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hreich@tribune.com
