Chicago Jazz Ensemble Artistic Director, Jon Faddis has been selected by the City of Chicago to perform the National Anthem for "Family Sports Night" during the 73rd Annual Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors. The annual conference is attended by more than 300 of the nation's Mayors and their families. Faddis will perform the Star Spangled Banner at U.S. Cellular Field during the White Sox/ Arizona Diamondbacks night game, Monday, June 13. The game begins at 7:05 p.m. and is open to the public.

Faddis, draws on over thirty years experience in performing with and conducting superb Jazz big bands such as Lionel Hampton's big band and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (now the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). Faddis served as music director for Dizzy Gillespie's GrammyTM-award winning United Nation's Orchestra, for Dizzy Gillespie's 70th Birthday Big Band, and, after his mentor's passing, Faddis led the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars Big Band. Renowned for his leadership of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Faddis conducted over 40 concerts in ten years at Carnegie Hall, featuring over 135 musicians and 70 guest artists.

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble was founded in 1965 by the late jazz composer William Russo as a professional jazz orchestra in residence at Columbia College Chicago. The 20-piece orchestra is comprised of Chicago's jazz elite and its repertoire is derived from the early works of Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, King Oliver, and Jelly Roll Morton, as well as other jazz greats that forged the American jazz heritage.

Special Premier Cruise - Saturday, June 18, 2005

CHICAGO – Plan an unforgettable jazz experience aboard Odyssey! Blujazz Productions, Chicago Jazz Magazine, and WBEZ 91.5 FM are proud to partner with Odyssey Cruises to kick off the summer with a series of weekend Moonlight Jazz Cruises. Odyssey Moonlight Jazz Cruises feature Blujazz artists, such as The Mike Frost Project plus a number of other great jazz bands. Dine on distinctive hors d’ouevres, enjoy cocktails available for purchase on board, and listen to great live jazz as images of the world famous Chicago Skyline drift slowly past.

The Odyssey Moonlight Jazz Series premiers on Saturday, June 18, 2005 with the WBEZ 91.5 Chicago Public Radio Listener Night. This special cruise will feature The Mike Frost Project and the Diane Delin/Dennis Luxion Duo – both Chicago based Blujazz recording artists with national charted CDs – as well as two of WBEZ’s most popular jazz personalities. This unforgettable night aboard the Odyssey begins boarding at 12 Midnight and departs from Navy Pier at 12:30am and cruises until 2:30am. The price for an Odyssey Moonlight Jazz Cruise is $34/person (price does not include taxes, fees or prepaid service charges).

Odyssey Cruises is the largest and most luxurious fine-dining cruise ship on the Great Lakes.

This elegant vessel offers three climate-controlled decks and an outdoor observation deck. Odyssey Cruises provides the most unique and memorable setting for your perfectly planned party for two or gala event for up to 700 guests. Odyssey also offers dinner, lunch and weekend jazz brunch cruises, please visit Odyssey.com for the current cruise schedule, rates and special promotions or call 888-957-2322.

Photo by Terence Love

Jimmy Smith, the Hammond B-3 icon who creatively revolutionized the instrument in Jazz, died on Tuesday, February 8, at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"Jimmy was one of the greatest and most innovative musicians of our time. I love the man and I love the music. He was my idol, my mentor and my friend," fellow Hammond B-3 artist and friend" - Joey Defrancesco

CHICAGO--The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), internationally recognized as the foremost experimental music collective of our time, is commemorating its 40th Anniversary with two days of celebration: Saturday, May 7, at 2 pm, at the Chicago Cultural Center; and Sunday, May 8, at 2 pm, at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

On May 8, 1965, a cadre of Chicago's most forward-thinking musician-composers, led by pianists Jodie Christian and Muhal Richard Abrams, drummer Steve McCall, and trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran, gathered on Chicago's South Side to found the AACM as an artist-run organization dedicated to developing and promoting original music.

Right from the start, the AACM positioned itself at the forefront of musical innovation, and its members have long been recognized for their influence on 20th-Century music. Drawing on a wide range of musical styles, AACM members have created new notation systems, extended techniques and new technologies, invented instruments, kinetic sculptures, and much more, creating a composite approach that has come to be known around the world as "Great Black Music: Ancient to the Future."