Chicago Tribune: New home for jazz fest knows how to swing
September 1, 2013 / No Comments / Tags: Chicago Jazz Festival, Howard ReichHoward Reich
Chicago Tribune
Gregory Porter performing at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion during the Chicago Jazz Festival, on Saturday. (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune / August 30, 2013)
In a single stroke, the Chicago Jazz Festival went from grunge to glamour over the weekend, thanks to a simple – and desperately needed – change of address.
For its first 34 years, the long-suffering, often cash-strapped event subjected musicians and listeners alike to dismal production values in wide-open, oft-muddy, acoustically awful Grant Park.
The funding remains meager, but for its 35th anniversary at least the fest moved up to Millennium Park, where it looked and sounded like a million bucks (which is $800,000 more than its undernourished programming budget of $200,000).
Source: Chicago Tribune
