The Chicago Jazz Festival stretches out this year, in more ways than one.
For starters, several free shows — underwritten by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and presented in conjunction with Chicago clubs and concert halls — will start Saturday. The idea is to attract audiences to the city’s vibrant jazz scene.
In addition, ticketed concerts at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will be a welcome addition to the mass-appeal events at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
Following are some of the most promising shows at the 40th annual festival, which is programmed by the nonprofit Jazz Institute of Chicago.
For more information, visit www.chicagojazzfestival.us or www.jazzinchicago.org.
All events are free, unless otherwise noted.
Neighborhood events
Saturday
Josh Berman, Jason Roebke and Michael Vatcher. Cornetist Berman, bassist Roebke and drummer Vatcher — all searchers of new sounds — kick off the festivities with a session starting at 7:30 p.m. They’re followed by iconoclastic keyboardist Craig Taborn at 9 p.m. Constellation, 3111 N. Western Ave.
Sunday
“Touch My Beloved’s Thought.” Chicago alto saxophonist-composer Greg Ward produced a major work with this response to Charles Mingus’ “The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.” Ward’s provocative score and the expressive choreography of Onye Ozuzu make this piece well worth reviving. Also on the bill: Twin Talk. 7:30 p.m., Links Hall/Constellation, 3111 N. Western Ave.
Ken Vandermark/Havard Wiik; Vincent Chancey. Chicagoan and MacArthur Fellow Vandermark partners with pianist Wiik, a rare opportunity to hear the saxophonist in a duo setting. French hornist Chancey leads a quartet. 8 p.m., Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont Ave.
Monday
Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things. Drummer-composer Reed, a dynamic force in Chicago as owner of Constellation and champion of many musicians’ ventures, launches the new Summer Jazz at the Harris project leading his long-running band. 6 p.m., Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. $10; www.harristheaterchicago.org.
Pop Up NU Jazz Festival. The Jazz Festival reaches out to the South Side as trumpeters Marquis Hill and Corey Wilkes, bassist Junius Paul, saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, performance poet Marvin Tate and others converge in an event produced by the Live the Spirit Residency. 5 p.m.,Englewood Square, 632 W. 63rd St.
Richard Johnson. Here’s a solo piano set in one of the city’s most intimate and appealing listening rooms (broadcast live on WDCB-FM 90.9). 6 p.m., PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave.
Patricia Barber Quartet. The singular singer-pianist-songwriter performs every Monday night at the Green Mill Jazz Club, but this time the free-admission scenario could beckon new listeners. 9 p.m., Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway.
Tuesday
Jo Ann Daugherty. An inventive, often ebullient pianist with a rising profile in Chicago, Daugherty will lead her trio (broadcast live on WDCB-FM 90.9). 6 p.m., PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave.
Fred Anderson Legacy Band. Saxophonist and Velvet Lounge club owner Anderson died in 2010, at age 81, but his legacy thrives in the work of uncounted proteges. They gather here to honor the master, in a show produced by The Birdhouse. 6 p.m., Fred Anderson Park, 1629 S. Wabash Ave.
Von is the Word! That would be Von Freeman, of course, the legendary Chicago tenor saxophonist whose memory will be invoked in a concert presented by the South Side Jazz Coalition. 6:30 p.m., Hales Franciscan High School, 4930 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Fat Babies. Jazz of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s sounds fresh again in the hands of the Fat Babies, who play this music as if it were still wet on the page. 9 p.m., Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway.
Wednesday
Chicago Japanese American Jazz Legacy. Artists such as bassist Tatsu Aoki and singer-pianist Yoko Noge decades ago began forging links between South Side jazz and Japanese folkloric music. That merger will be celebrated here. 6 p.m., Fred Anderson Park, 1629 S. Wabash Ave.
Jerry Medina y La Banda; Ruiz Belvis Collective. Saxophonists Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez have brought Puerto Rican musical currents into jazz, and this double-bill will do likewise, in a presentation produced by the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center. 8:30 p.m., Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan. The last of three free sessions at the Green Mill features the gypsy jazz of guitarist Ponticelli and his superb Swing Gitan. 9 p.m., Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway.
AACM Generations. For more than half a century, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians has opened new avenues for improvisation, composition and instrumentation. The tradition continues. 9 p.m., Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave., second floor.
Downtown events
Wednesday
Orbert Davis and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. Chicago trumpeter-composer Davis leads his CJP in a “Legends and Lions” concert that kicks off the downtown portion of festival and concludes the orchestra’s three-concert residency at Millennium Park. Guest soloists will include singers Tammy McCann, Aeriel Williams and Sarah Marie Young; vibraphonists Stu Katz, Joel Ross and Thaddeus Tukes; trumpeters Art Hoyle and Bobby Lewis; saxophonists Ari Brown, Pat Mallinger and Kevin King playing “For Von and Fred”; pianist Bethany Pickens paying homage to her late father, pianist Willie Pickens; and flutists Nicole Mitchell, Steve Eisen and Mayshell Morris. 6:30 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue.
Thursday
Mindeman/Hall/Sommers Trio. Pianist Stu Mindeman, drummer Dana Hall and bassist Clark Sommers revisit Chick Corea’s 1968 album “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” and launch the daytime events at the Chicago Cultural Center (which will run until 4:30 p.m.). Presented by the Jazz Record Art Collective. 11 a.m., Claudia Cassidy Theater at Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.
Geof Bradfield Nonet. Chicago saxophonist Bradfield, who conjures an unexpected new project practically every season, this time celebrates the release of “Yes, and … Music for Nine Improvisers.” 5:25 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
Nicole Mitchell and Mandorla Awakening. Flutist Mitchell, who’s based in California but has maintained deep ties to Chicago, presents other worldly, genre-transcendent music. 6:30 pm., Pritzker Pavilion.
Aug. 31
Greg Ward and 10 Tongues. Chicago listeners lucked out when saxophonist-composer Ward left New York to come home to Chicago. He leads 10 Tongues, which played the music for his “Touch My Beloved’s Thought” suite and likely will reprise much of it here. 3 p.m., Von Freeman Pavilion in Millennium Park.
Roy McGrath. The Chicago saxophonist and his ensemble play music from his “Remembranzas” album, which explores music of McGrath’s Puerto Rican heritage and evokes the poetry of Julia de Burgos. 1:30 p.m., Jazz and Heritage Pavilion in Millennium Park.
Tribute to Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams. The eminent composer-pianist-thinker, who died last year at age 87, co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and in uncounted ways pointed to new vistas in improvisation and composition. His memory will be invoked by pianists Amina Claudine Myers and Myra Melford, reedists Mwata Bowden and Ari Brown, trumpeter Leon Q. Allen, bassist Harrison Bankhead and drummer Reggie Nicholson. 4:15 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
Dianne Reeves. One of the reigning female vocalists in jazz, Reeves produces luscious tone and brilliant melodic flights while keeping the spotlight on the music, rather than herself, a rare achievement these days. 7:45 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
Sept. 1
Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp Quartet. The Brazilian saxophonist and the free-ranging American pianist will augment their partnership with bassist William Parker and drummer Bobby Kapp, which means there’s no predicting where this music will go. 1:50 p.m., Von Freeman Pavilion.
Nolatet. Any chance to hear drummer Johnny Vidacovich and bassist James Singleton, New Orleans masters best known for their long collaboration in Astral Project, should not be missed. 3 p.m., Jazz and Heritage Pavilion.
Kenwood Academy Jazz Band. The mighty ensemble, led by teachers Gerald Powell and Bethany Pickens, returns. 3:05 p.m., Young Jazz Lions stage (Harris Rooftop).
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society. One of the most talked-about big bands in 21st century jazz makes its belated Chicago debut. 6:25 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
Ramsey Lewis. The Jazz Festival is billing this as Lewis’ last Chicago show before retiring, but don’t believe it — the man says he still has a lot more he wants to do at the piano. 7:45 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
Sept. 2
Jason Stein Quartet. Chicagoan Stein has gone a long way toward establishing the viability and versatility of the bass clarinet, his work bringing new colors, tones and shades to the art of jazz. 1:50 p.m., Von Freeman Pavilion.
Matt Ulery’s Loom Large. Distinctions among genres melt away when Chicago bassist Ulery leads Loom Large, a big band that embraces jazz, classical, avant-garde, Eastern European folkloric music and more. 4:15 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
Arturo O’Farrill Sextet. The son of visionary long-form composer Chico O’Farrill, pianist Arturo O’Farrill builds on his father’s Afro-Cuban breakthroughs and shows considerably keyboard dexterity along the way. 5:25 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
Charles McPherson/Barry Harris Quartet. Old-school bebop lives when saxophonist McPherson and pianist Harris are in the house. 6:25 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion.
After Fest shows
Ira Sullivan. The octogenarian multi-instrumentalist will lead his annual post-fest jam sessions. Aug. 30-Sept. 2; Jazz Showcase 806 S. Plymouth Court; $20-$35; 312-360-0234 or www.jazzshowcase.com.
Kidd Jordan. A fearless New Orleans saxophonist returns. Aug. 31 and Sept. 1; Constellation, 3111 N. Western Ave.; free; www.constellation-chicago.com.
Johnny O’Neal. The piano whiz who sings as well as he plays. Aug. 31 and Sept. 1; Winter’s Jazz Club, 465 N. McClurg Court (promenade); $25-$30; 312-344-1270 or www.wintersjazzclub.com.
Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.
hreich@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @howardreich
