About us
The Jazz Institute of Chicago
was founded in 1969 by a small band of jazz fans, writers, club owners
and musicians who came together to preserve the historical roots of the
Chicago's music and to ensure that opportunities for the music to be
heard would not be lost in a time when rock was subsuming cultural
economics. Among the founding members were trad pianist Art Hodes, Muhal Richard Abrams, who a few years earlier had also co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Joe Segal, whose Jazz Showcase has kept the flame for bebop lit for 50 years, Bob Koester, owner of Delmark Records, Don De Micheal, drummer and editor of Downbeat magazine, jazz promoter and supporter Penny Tyler
and several other devoted souls. The operating principle was, and
continues to be based on the recognition that all forms of the music
should be equally represented in whatever we do. From the Annual Jazz Fair that we began in 1979 to the Chicago Jazz Festival
which we began programming in 1979, to the hundreds of concerts and
programs presented all over the city, we have sought to open peoples'
ears to new music by standing the familiar and the unfamiliar side by
side.
In the 80's we brought a jazz curriculum
into the Chicago Public High Schools that became a template for similar
programs all over the country. In 1997 we began a partnership with the
Chicago Park District. The citywide JazzCity concert series brings Chicago's stellar talent right into the neighborhoods, for free.
In 1999 the American Composers Forum joined us in initiating the Chicago Composers Project,
to commission composers to create collaborative compositions with
residents of the city's communities. We began by celebrating the
storied history of Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood--home to Louis
Armstrong and numerous other important jazz innovators. Then to
Humboldt Park where Afro-Caribbean music found it's way into the city's
heartbeat. In 2001 the diversity of Asian communities in Chicago was
explored and in 2002 our large Polish population contributed to the
effort.
Our newest program is Jazz Links:
a partnership with music teachers working in Chicago public schools. It
jumped off in 2003 with musician residencies in four public high
schools, the regeneration of the All City High School Jazz Band Competition and a really exciting new initiative, monthly Jazz Links Student Jam Sessions at one of Chicago's premiere jazz clubs, the Hot House. We're talking about starting a Jazz Summer School soon, too.
We
undertake these endeavors because we want to ensure that new audiences
continue to be developed for the music, and that Chicago's place in its
history be recognized and presented.
We feel that many of our
programs create opportunities for people to transform their lives via
arts and culture. And we are committed to ensuring that the great jazz
legacy of Chicago will continue to enrich and inspire our lives for
many generations to come.