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Herbie Hancock waves to the crowd during a Sept. 2, 2021, concert at Orchestra Hall. A Chicago native, Hancock is one of the founders and organizers of the annual International Jazz Day celebration. Chicago is this year's Global Host City.
Todd Rosenberg Photography
Chicago may not be the birthplace of jazz, but it remains an important site in the genre’s development. So it’s fitting that Chicago will serve as the Global Host City for the 15th annual International Jazz Day on April 30.
Capping the occasion will be an All-Star Global Concert headlined by Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Marcus Miller, Renée Fleming, Jacob Collier, Bobby Broom, Ernest Dawkins, Marquis Hill and Joel Ross. The concert, beginning at 7 p.m. at Chicago’s Civic Opera House, will be live-streamed on jazzday.com, YouTube, Facebook and UN Web TV.
International Jazz Day is led by UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany of Egypt and Chicago-born pianist-composer Herbie Hancock; it is organized in partnership with the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit charged with planning, promoting and producing the annual tribute. A UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue, Hancock is the chairman of his namesake Institute of Jazz.
Hancock, who began his studies as a concert pianist, took his first step on a professional stage at age 11, when he appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a Young People’s Concert at Orchestra Hall on Feb. 5, 1952. “I’m excited that Chicago, my hometown, is hosting International Jazz Day 2026,” said Hancock in a statement. "It was in my Chicago high school auditorium that I discovered jazz, an event that sparked a lifelong passion and commitment to this powerful art form. Jazz opened doors to creativity, self-expression and freedom.”
As part of International Jazz Day, the city will welcome a series of other jazz concerts, educational initiatives, all-ages discussions and events, in partnership with the Chicago Jazz Alliance, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, the Ravinia Festival, the City of Chicago, the Illinois Arts Council, the State of Illinois and others.
In an SCP Jazz concert on May 1 at Orchestra Hall, drummer-composer Mike Reed and fellow Chicago improvisers will explore the legacy of Chicago avant-garde bassist Fred Hopkins (1947-1999), regarded as the definitive jazz bassist of his generation. Before the concert, the CSO’s African American Network will host a reception in Grainger Ballroom, where AAN members will gather to celebrate Chicago’s jazz scene. A separate, free ticket is required to attend the reception.
As part of International Jazz Day activities, Symphony Center also will host the photo exhibit “Haunts & Heroes: The Legacy and Foundation of Chicago Jazz” on May 1-3 in its Forte space off the Adams Street entrance.
The exhibit, which will move among four sites from April 26 to May 3, was created in partnership with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Institute of Chicago, Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago and Ravinia Festival, with more information available here.
“Haunts & Heroes” surveys the history of Chicago jazz, from the late Steve Shapiro’s portraits of Lil Hardin Armstrong and Earl “Fatha” Hines to contemporary artists Isaiah Collier and Nicole Mitchell. Curated by jazz journalist-photographer Michael Jackson, the exhibit features images of Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge, the Green Mill, Joe and Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase, Hothouse, Hungry Brain, Elastic, Andy’s, Constellation, the legendary New Apartment Lounge and other ”haunts.”
Access to the photo exhibit is free for all ticket holders attending CSO or Symphony Center Presents Jazz concerts May 1-3, with the exhibit space opening 45 minutes before each concert.
International Jazz Day this year celebrates the centennial of jazz icon Miles Davis and marks the first time in a decade that it has returned to the United States. International Jazz Day culminates Jazz Appreciation Month, which draws public attention to jazz and its rich heritage throughout April.
International Jazz Day began in 2011, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization officially designated April 30 to highlight jazz and its role of uniting people across the globe. The annual celebration honors jazz and its role in promoting peace, cultural dialogue, human rights and dignity, racial and gender equality and freedom of expression.
For more than a century, Chicago has been a jazz mecca. As early as the 1920s, jazz musicians flocked to the city as a creative hub. Jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton made their names here, developing the “Chicago style” of jazz. This style valued solos, improvisation, big-band arrangements and a more rhythmic sound, bringing instruments like the saxophone to the fore. Today, Chicago continues to celebrate its heritage through the annual Chicago Jazz Festival and iconic venues such as the Green Mill and the Jazz Showcase, founded in 1935 and 1947, respectively.
Jazz vocalist and Chicago native Kurt Elling leads a press conference on Jan. 20, where details were announced for International Jazz Day 2026. Chicago is this year's Global Host City.
Justin Barbin
Haunts & Heroes: The Legacy and Foundation of Chicago Jazz
As part of International Jazz Day 2026 activities, Symphony Center will host the photo exhibit "Haunts & Heroes: The Legacy and Foundation of Chicago Jazz” on May 1-3. Curated by journalist Michael Jackson, “Haunts & Heroes” surveys the history of Chicago jazz, from early pioneers to contemporary stalwarts. The exhibit, displayed in the Forte space, is free to all SCP/CSO ticket holders. Here are some of the images featured in the exhibit.
