Three days of free, original jazz are scheduled to land on Chicago's South Side next week as the Englewood Jazz Festival marks its 27th year at Hamilton Park. The event, running from Thursday through Saturday, brings free live music to the neighborhood.
According to Choose Chicago, the free festival runs September 17 through 19 at Hamilton Park on the South Side and features three days of original compositions presented by Live the Spirit Residency, the nonprofit organization behind the event. This year's programming leans heavily on centennial tributes, honoring jazz legends Oscar Brown Jr., John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins with new works created specifically for the occasion, the same source notes.
A Civil Rights Suite Takes Center Stage
One of the weekend's centerpieces is Dawkins' own composition, “Fannie Lou Hamer: No One Could Contain Her,” an original piece that fuses spirituals, jazz improvisation and spoken word to recount the civil rights leader's journey. Per BroadwayWorld, the piece will be performed by the Live the Spirit Residency Expanded Ensemble featuring Dee Alexander, and it was commissioned by Live the Spirit Residency and premiered earlier this year for UNESCO International Jazz Day.
The 2026 lineup also includes a family tribute, with Maggie and Africa Brown performing in honor of their father, Oscar Brown Jr., as documented on Live the Spirit Residency's own site. WGN-TV's Spotlight Chicago segment on the festival, which airs weekdays from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., featured festival participants Dakarai and Ernest discussing how the event celebrates the next generation of creative musicians.
Roots in Community Access and the AACM
Saxophonist and composer Ernest Dawkins founded the festival in 1999, and it offers free performances to Englewood residents, as reported by The Guardian in a 2014 profile of the event. The festival has continued for nearly three decades.
Dawkins' ties to Chicago's jazz history run deeper than the festival itself, according to the JJA Jazz Awards. The AACM is part of Dawkins' broader connection to Chicago jazz. In May, the Jazz Institute of Chicago presented Dawkins with its Excellence in Jazz Education Award, recognizing four decades of using music for neighborhood revitalization and youth education in Englewood, an honor presented during the Jazz Institute's annual gala at Morgan MFG, as shown in a video posted to Facebook.
Youth Mentorship and Nonprofit Backing
The festival is produced by Live the Spirit Residency, a Chicago 501(c)(3) nonprofit that reported $287,835 in total revenues for fiscal year 2024, according to ProPublica's nonprofit database. The organization receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Driehaus Foundation.
Live the Spirit Residency also features The Young Masters. Choose Chicago notes that the Young Masters ensemble will perform at the festival.
Why Hamilton Park, Rain or Shine
The festival takes place at the Chicago Park District's Hamilton Park Cultural Center at 513 W. 72nd Street. Per CBS News, the park's fieldhouse facilities let outdoor sets move indoors if bad weather hits, meaning performances continue rain or shine.
The Englewood festival offers free jazz programming at Hamilton Park.
