Live Jazz in Chicago

FREE ADMISSION Jazz jam sessions have long been the place where musicians gather to connect, perform together, and hone their skills. Historically, jam sessions take place after-hours in the clubs, making it impossible for student musicians to participate. The Jazz Links Jam Session creates a live performance opportunity where student musicians can learn, grow, and connect with their jazz community. The JAZZ LINKS JAM SESSIONS take place every month at The Jazz Showcase from October through May from 5:00pm-7:00pm. Students perform with one another and with the Jazz Links house band, which Includes world-class, professional jazz musicians. WHO CAN JAM? Students age 9-19 perform with one another and with the Jazz Links Mentors in the house. WHO SHOULD ATTEND THE JAM SESSION? Musicians, parents, students, siblings, and friends are all welcome and encouraged to attend these free events. HOW DOES IT WORK? Students sign up on-site, and fill out a jam session info card listing three to five tunes they can play and improvise on from memory. The jam session host calls up groups of students to perform and improvise together in front of an enthusiastic live audience. WHAT SHOULD I BRING? Bring your trumpet/saxophone/trombone/voice/flute/vibes/drumsticks and a list of jazz standard tunes that you know and can improvise over. A vocal microphone, drum set, double bass, bass amp, and piano are provided for each session. The Jazz Institute of Chicago gratefully acknowledges the following for their support of the Jazz Links Education Program: The Alphawood Foundation | The Benjamin Rosenthal Foundation | A CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events | Crown Family Philanthropies| Dan J. Epstein Family Foundation | The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation | The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation| Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency | The Oppenheimer Family Foundation | The Polk Bros. Foundation| The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince | The Walder Foundation.

Fulton Street Collective presents EVON J SAMS Album Release Performance of MOTHER EARTH 2.0 on Tuesday, June 23rd at 7:30pm. The evening will feature live painting from visual artist Arthur Wright. Mother Earth 2.0 is a continuation of the Mother Earth Saga from the mind of composer and multi-instrumentalist Evon J. Sams. This album explores some of the work from the first iteration of Mother Earth but features a new three-movement suite that depicts nature’s resiliency in the face of human advancement. This piece also addresses the growing concerns surrounding AI. The album is complemented by the addition of two jazz standards, “Nature Boy” and “Night and Day.” Evon J. Sams- Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet Austyn Menk- Piano, adn Keyboard Nat Lin- Bass Sid Smith IV- Drums Mellisa Wang- Percussion Alysha Monique- Vocals 7pm Doors 7:30pm Show (2 Sets) $15 FREE PARKING

Cameron Pfiffner/ Saxophones and Flute Pat Mallinger / Saxophones Pete Benson / Organ Neil Hemphill/ Drums Founded around 1990, Sabertooth is led by two saxophonists: Cameron Pfiffner & Pat Mallinger. The band started out with the unique pairing of its two lead reedmen at an old musicians hang called Jazz Bulls in Lincoln Park West neighborhood of Chicago. From that night’s collaboration the idea of Sabertooth began to take shape with a driving force behind the widely varied stylings best summed up as, “just groove it”. Sabertooth has often ventured beyond soul-jazz and hard bop and moved into post-bop and modal territory with John Coltrane’s modal recordings of the early to mid-’60s influencing the groups sound. Sabertooth is both a post-bop group and a soul-jazz/hard bop group with a highly diverse repertoire that includes many original compositions and jazz classics by Duke Ellington, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Lester Young, John Coltrane, as well as covers by the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Marley. Special invited guests who have performed with Sabertooth have included Harry Conick Jr., Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis Band, Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco, Umphrey’s Mcgee Band, and many others. Sabertooth has also performed for numerous jazz festivals, concerts and private engagements.

Cameron Pfiffner/ Saxophones and Flute Pat Mallinger / Saxophones Pete Benson / Organ Neil Hemphill/ Drums Founded around 1990, Sabertooth is led by two saxophonists: Cameron Pfiffner & Pat Mallinger. The band started out with the unique pairing of its two lead reedmen at an old musicians hang called Jazz Bulls in Lincoln Park West neighborhood of Chicago. From that night’s collaboration the idea of Sabertooth began to take shape with a driving force behind the widely varied stylings best summed up as, “just groove it”. Sabertooth has often ventured beyond soul-jazz and hard bop and moved into post-bop and modal territory with John Coltrane’s modal recordings of the early to mid-’60s influencing the groups sound. Sabertooth is both a post-bop group and a soul-jazz/hard bop group with a highly diverse repertoire that includes many original compositions and jazz classics by Duke Ellington, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Lester Young, John Coltrane, as well as covers by the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Marley. Special invited guests who have performed with Sabertooth have included Harry Conick Jr., Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis Band, Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco, Umphrey’s Mcgee Band, and many others. Sabertooth has also performed for numerous jazz festivals, concerts and private engagements.

Back to All Events Improvised Music Series: Tri-Centric Experiencer's Unit, Lion's Head Thursday, June 25, 2026 8:30 PM 10:30 PM Google Calendar ICS Tri-Centric Experiencer’s Unit (L-R: Mark Nagy, Ben Zucker, Fred Jackson, with overlay of Composition No 436 by Anthony Braxton) Cover image of Lion’s Head debut EP ( listen here) Two trios paying homage to the legacies of 70s avant-garde jazz: The Tri-Centric Experiencer’s Unit plays a landmark Anthony Braxton composition; Lion’s Head, named after mentor Richard Davis, interpolates free improvisation with hard-swinging classic repertoire. 8:30 pm: Composition No. 76 by Anthony Braxton, performed by the Tri-Centric Experiencer’s Unit Fred Jackson Jr. - saxophones, flute Mark Nagy - clarinets, saxophones Ben Zucker - vibraphone, trumpet All musicians on voice & little instruments 9:30: Lion’s Head Maggie Cousin - alto saxophone/bass clarinet Henry Ptacek - drums Aden Stier - bass $15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available at the Door About The Artists The Tri-Centric Experiencers Unit is an evolving collective of Chicago musicians exploring the creative work of the groundbreaking composer-performer Anthony Braxton. First convened by Ben Zucker for an ensemble performance in 2024 featuring a multilayered rendition of Braxton’s modular, ’trans-idiomatic’ works, for this performance the focus is brought to a single piece: Composition 76, a landmark hybrid of notation, graphics, and improvisation featured on the historic 1977 Arista record For Trio. Expect the unexpected as multi-instrumentalists Fred Jackson Jr ., Mark Nagy , and Zucker bring a multitude of instruments big and small to realize the provocative score, in which trace of every dynamic, experimental music from bebop to Cagean silence to sound poetry might be heard. A collaboration between longtime friends Maggie Cousin, Aden Stier, and Henry Ptacek, Lion's Head seeks to make new improvised music rooted in the language of the jazz avant-garde of the late 60s and early 70s. Lion's Head treats the tradition as a living, urgent material, using the wisdom of their predecessors to navigate our shared here and now. Previous Previous June 23 Julie Meckler, Vee, Otto Rollo Next Next June 26 Elastro: Kristina Warren, Ben Zucker, Nu A.M.