The Hyde Park Jazz Festival, now in its 12th season, consolidates a great array of artistry and talent on the South Side of Chicago. "No other jazz festival in the Chicago area, and few elsewhere in the country, embraces and celebrates its neighborhood as effectively as the Hyde Park event has since its inception," wrote the Chicago Tribune critic Howard Reich in his review of the 2017 edition.

For this among other reasons, I've been meaning to attend the Hyde Park Jazz Festival for a number of years. There was always a scheduling conflict, or some prior obligation. So I'm really pleased to be attending (and presenting!) this year, as part of the festival's lineup at the Logan Center screening room, on campus at the University of Chicago. I'll talk about Playing Changes with Mike Reed, the brilliant drummer, composer, bandleader and organizer. (Mike and I will get warmed up the night before on the North Side with an event at his club, Constellation.) Many thanks to Kate Dumbleton, the festival's executive and artistic director, for making this event a possibility.