Pop, jazz and hip-hop artists to play Ravinia
ravinia schedule
Get dates for:
Elvis Costello
Emmylou Harris
Cheap Trick
Wyclef Jean
Los Lonely Boys
Ben Folds
Rufus Wainwright
Lyle Lovett
Susan Tedeschi
McCoy Tyner
Tony Bennett
Gipsy Kings
Aretha Franklin
Buddy Guy
Jonny Lang
Blind Boys of Alabama
Full schedule
By Howard Reich
Tribune arts critic
Jazz legends Chick Corea and McCoy Tyner, cabaret divas Barbara Cook and Sylvia McNair and hip-hop performer Wyclef Jean will headline the Ravinia Festival's pop and jazz season, the Highland Park-based organization has announced.
Jean's appearance, on July 11, will bring hip-hop sounds to the Ravinia Festival for the first time, while the jazz and cabaret performers will appear on specific series dedicated to these genres.
The annual Jazz in June lineup will begin June 16, with "Big Band Night," featuring the Chicago-area debut of trumpeter Irvin Mayfield's New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, on a triple-bill with Dizzy Gillespie's All-Star Big Band and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi will open the evening.
Jazz in June will continue on June 17 with an "Evening of Jazz, Gospel and Dance" spotlighting the McCoy Tyner Trio, tap-dance virtuoso Savion Glover and the James Memorial Sanctuary Choir, in a venture organized by pianist Ramsey Lewis, who also serves as director of jazz at Ravinia.
On June 18, Lewis plays a piano recital.
And on June 19, Jazz in June concludes with Corea and his Spanish-tinged Touchstone band, saxophonist Branford Marsalis and the Ellis Marsalis Quartet.
The Martinis at the Martin cabaret series will present Wesla Whitfield, June 8; Barbara Cook, June 19 and 20; Sylvia McNair, July 10; Tovah Feldshuh, Aug. 14-15; and Betty Buckley, Aug. 28-29.
In pop, the festival will present Cheap Trick, June 10; the BoDeans, June 11; a double-bill of Susan Tedeschi and the Blind Boys of Alabama, June 15; a live national broadcast of Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion," June 18; the Doobie Brothers, June 22; The Beach Boys, June 28; Wyclef Jean, July 11; Alison Krauss and Union Station, July 6; Lyle Lovett, July 12 and 13; "ABBA: The Music," performed by the "official tribute band," July 22; Eartha Kitt and Nellie McKay in "Play It Again: The Film Music of Woody Allen," with Dick Hyman, July 26; Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris, July 27.
The pop offerings will continue with India and Tiempo Libre, Aug. 3; Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright, Aug. 10; Chaka Khan with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Aug. 13; Aretha Franklin, Aug. 17-18; Tony Bennett, Aug. 19; Los Lonely Boys, Aug. 20; Gipsy Kings, Aug. 30 and 31.
The pop-music attractions will conclude with "Hot Summer Nights," featuring Al Jarreau, Cassandra Wilson and The Rippingtons, featuring Russ Freeman, Sept. 1; Buddy Guy Electric and Jonny Lang Acoustic Band, Sept. 2; and Hootie and the Blowfish, Sept. 10.
Tickets go on sale April 14 at
www.ravinia.org.
For more information, call 847-266-5100.
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