Andy Argyrakis

Very few festivals are as carefully curated, let alone as completely free as the Chicago Jazz Festival, which always unites a ton of local and international artists spread throughout various community venues, culminating on the main stage of Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

Organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the annual tradition features four days of preview events spanning August 26 to September 2 and another four nights of top tier performances from September 3-6.

The official portion began with the headlining combination of Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and acclaimed pianist Bill Charlap, followed by fellow pianist, producer and all-around cross genre innovator Robert Glasper.

However, it was M.E.B. (Miles Electric Band) celebrating the Miles Davis Centennial that wound up being the long weekend’s centerpiece, led by Emmy and Grammy-winning producer/drummer Vince Wilburn, Jr., alongside a cast of both actual players for the game-changing trumpeter, such as longtime musical director/piano player Robert Irving III and bassist Darryl Jones (now with The Rolling Stones for over three decades), plus the next generation of interpreters.

Though the majority of tributes tend to focus on the earlier, immensely acclaimed “Kind Of Blue” era or the fusion/experimentation of the brilliant “Bitches Brew,” the latter day players shined much-deserved light on a commercial yet still envelope-pushing comeback in the 1980s.

Combining jazz, pop, funk, rock and early hip-hop, “The Man With The Horn” continued to blur lines and shatter boundaries on the contemporary classics “Decoy” and “You’re Under Arrest,” which M.E.B. touched upon and boldly illustrated via everyone’s impeccable chops.

They also reverently tore into such prior pioneering selections as “In a Silent Way,” “It’s About That Time” and “Pharaoh’s Dance,” possessing a spirit that was similarly adventurous to the otherwise inimitable man behind the masterpieces.

Preceding the all-star players was Chicago crooner Paul Marinaro, fresh off the “Mood Ellington” album, as he paid stunning tribute to the late piano/band-leading legend Duke Ellington, in addition to lifelong collaborator Billy Strayhorn, through the timeless tunes “I’m Beginning To See The Light,” “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me” and “Mood Indigo.”

Up next is another Grammy-winner, Cuban clarinetist/saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, who brings an extensive career retrospective on Sunday, September 6 to cap off all the various shades of jazz the Windy City has to offer.

For additional information on M.E.B. (Miles Electric Band), visit MilesElectricBand.com.

Chicago Jazz Festival continues at Millennium Park through September 6. For additional details, visit ChicagoJazzFestival.us.

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