When I heard from my fellow jazz vocalist from Missouri, Val Ticachek, that Sheila Jordan would be joining three brothers of jazz--Jon Hendricks,Mark Murphy and Kurt Elling--for a free concert at Millenium Park in Chicago, I recognized the historic significance of this event and made plans to go.

Photo by Rhonda Laurie

Thanks to the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs et al, which created the Chicago Jazz Partnership in support of local jazz artists, four of the greatest practitioners of vocalese performed at the Millenium Park concert pavilion on July 21, 2005. Most significantly, one of the originators of the art of vocalese, Jon Hendricks (who will be turning 84 in September), was part of this historic vocal jazz concert. Also performing were the great Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, and Chicago native, Kurt Elling. Kurt Elling is of the most recent generation of vocalese artists /poets.

Born in 1943 and raised in Indiana, Gary Burton taught himself to play the vibraphone and, at the age of 17, made his recording debut in Nashville, Tennessee, with guitarists Hank Garland and Chet Atkins. Two years later, Burton left his studies at Berklee College of Music to join George Shearing and subsequently Stan Getz, with whom he worked from 1964-1966.

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Millennium Park and the Jazz Institute of Chicago present the savory sounds of Chicago jazz during six free concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion this summer. Made in Chicago: A Jazz Celebration takes place on five Thursdays throughout July and August. A sixth concert, on Monday, August 29 kicks off "Jazz Week," culminating with the Chicago Jazz Festival, which takes place September 1-4. Made in Chicago is sponsored by the Chicago Jazz Partnership, a collaborative effort among The Boeing Company, Bank One, Kraft Foods and The Chicago Community Trust.