Third Annual Winter Jazz Fest at the Mac Feb. 13 to 19
The McAninch Arts Center and WDCB 90.9 fm – Public Radio from College of DuPage team up to present the Third Annual Winter Jazz Fest, this year highlighting the work and life of National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Dizzy Gillespie.
The week-long Winter Jazz Fest celebrates the best in jazz and features Chicago artists and community events Monday, Feb. 13, through Saturday, Feb. 18.
Fest events include performances at the MAC, 425 Fawell Blvd. in Glen Ellyn, and other locations.
“This event has firmly established the MAC and WDCB as the jazz hub of the Western suburbs,” said MAC Director Stephen Cummins. “We are excited to bring these talented artists to the MAC stage, offering both first-time audience goers and jazz aficionados an intimate setting to enjoy the sounds of some of Chicago's best.”
WDCB is the last great jazz station in the Chicago area. Established in 1977, the station offers music, news, features and information that reach a weekly audience of about 175,000 listeners. WDCB is recipient of two Chicago Music Awards.
The 2012 Winter Jazz Fest features two Mainstage concerts celebrating great Chicago musicians and their American music, as well as children's events, art project, film screening and an open mic.
The fest opens Monday, Feb. 13, with the installation of a community mural by artists Bernard Williams. The piece will be available for public viewing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at DuPage Children's Museum, and Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Elmhurst Art Museum.
The After Hours Film Society hosts a screening of “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, at Tivoli Theatre, 603 Rogers St., Downers Grove. Guy, a talented jazz trumpeter, and Madeline, a waitress, enjoy a three-month romance before separating to pursue music and a new life, respectively.
Bruce Oscar, host of WDCB's “All Things Jazz” and “Swing Shift,” hosts a free open mic at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, on the MAC Mainstage.
A selection of Downtown Glen Ellyn restaurants will host free jazz performances from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Jazz saxophonist Mark Colby and Friends present a concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, on the MAC Mainstage. The Feb. 16 performance is the culmination of a residency program between the MAC and Lyons Township, Downers Grove South and St. Charles East high schools. Colby and residency students will perform.
Winding down the week-long celebration, Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble brings their high-energy to the MAC Mainstage at an 8 p.m. performance Friday, Feb. 17. In the tradition of the Dizzy Gillespie United nations Orchestra, CALJ founding members Darwin Noguera and Victor Garcia lead a talented group of Chicago musicians, fusing jazz with Afro-Latin American music. The performance includes the premiere of a piece commissioned by the MAC in honor of Gillespie.
Tickets are $32 for adults, $30 for seniors and $22 for youth.
Young jazz fans and their parents can learn more about the genre and even join in with kazoos at Kidjazz! with the Arts Center Jazz Ensemble at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. This interactive Mainstage performance features sing-alongs and dancing, showcasing jazz greats.
Tickets are $12.
American jazz and blues singer Patricia Barber closes out Winter Jazz Fest with a performance at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, on the MAC Mainstage. Described by Time Magazine as a cross between Diana Krall and Susan Sontag, Barber is a favorite with audiences in downtown Chicago. She presents a mix of Green Mill favorites, including music from her recent Cole Porter CD.
Tickets are $34 for adults, $32 for seniors and $24 for youth.
Winter Jazz Fest formally closes with a free performance by Chicago Jazz Mass Ensemble at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at Faith Lutheran Church, 41 N. Park Blvd. in Glen Ellyn.
For more information, call the MAC Ticket Office at (630) 942-4000, or visit: www.atthemac.org.