Organised in collaboration with the Jazz Institute of Chicago, one of the most important NGOs to support jazz music in the USA, MADE IN CHICAGO is the only event in Europe to present such a broad legacy of Chicago jazz. Every year, Estrada Poznańska invites several artists – including young, talented musicians, and jazz legends – to participate in the festival. For many, it is their first visit to Poland. By presenting concerts that integrate each of the musicians into different line-ups we are not only able to present the whole spectrum of Chicago jazz: from the classics to the avant-garde, from improvised music, through the blues to vocal jazz, it also represents Chicago’s jazz as well. Previous editions of the festival spurred interest from the music business and the media in Poland and abroad. Representatives of key European jazz festivals arrive in Poznań to experience the rhythm of Chicago jazz, which has inspired them to present these musicians at their own events. Documentaries and concert recordings have been made at subsequent editions of the event for Polish Television’s Kultura Channel.MADE IN CHICAGO concerts will continue in the Spring as Chicago musicians will be touring in other cities in Poland including Krakow, Wrocław and Toruń.
For Chicago-based musicians, Poznań has become the capital of European jazz; an exotic and important destination. The MADE IN CHICAGO festival has featured almost 80 musicians from Chicago over these past 4 years. Jazz fans from Poznań have enjoyed a unique opportunity not only to be in touch with the Chicago jazz scene, but also to become familiar with its rich history. Concerts are accompanied by educational programmes. Every year, one of the invited musicians premieres an original composition created for the final concert to feature all of the invited musical guests of MADE IN CHICAGO, which is a humble reference to the idea of Muhal Richard Abrams’ Experimental Band of AACM’s early days. Nicole Mitchell’s 2006 HARAMBEE PROJECT and Roscoe Mitchell’s CARDS FOR ORCHESTRA 2008 have already undoubtedly made history at the MADE IN CHICAGO festival.
Just as jazz cannot do without the community of musicians, it will not exist without audiences. It always occurs “in between”: between notes, between styles, between members of the band, between musicians and the audience, between the beginning and the end of the concert. It is not contained in notes, melodies, particular people, neither can it be contained in recordings. It is free, it does not belong to anybody, and no-one can appropriate it in any way. All we can do for great jazz to happen is to offer the right conditions; the rest depends on the musicians and the audiences. We must also remember that jazz is not only music, but also a brave and bold artistry. Here, one cannot take a step back, to smooth, to improve something. Here, there are no rules, each concert is a great unknown, a surprise. But what is a source of fear for some, gives a lot of satisfaction of taking part in something quite exceptional to others. Welcome to unusual MADE IN CHICAGO festival.