Twenty years after the founding of Jazz at Orchestra Hall, the music heard in this venerable space couldn’t be more vital, both in its celebration of the great jazz tradition and the view it offers to jazz’s future. When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra launched the series in 1994, it was a major breakthrough for local jazz fans. Finally, in a city that gave the world the likes of Benny Goodman, Bud Freeman, Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, Lee Konitz, Von Freeman and Herbie Hancock, jazz was being given the same first-class treatment as more “serious” forms of music.
This season’s lineup features Herbie Hancock, Oct. 11; Joshua Redman Quartet and Muhal Richard Abrams, Nov. 22; Branford Marsalis and Ray Anderson’s Pocket Brass Band, Jan. 31; the Spring Quartet (with Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano and Esperanza Spalding), Feb. 15; Pat Metheny’s Unity Group, March 11; Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, March 28; Mavis Staples and Regina Carter’s Southern Comfort, April 18; Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic Project, May 2; Jason Moran and Theaster Gates, May 30, and Jon Faddis’ Triumph of Trumpets and Marcus Roberts’ New Orleans Swing Time, June 13.
