First Monday Jazz
Launched in 2013, First Monday Jazz is APL's longest-running program, featuring emerging and established Chicago musicians and vocalists on the first Monday of every month. From renowned vocalists Dee Alexander and Margaret Murphy-Webb, bassist Junius Paul, and saxophonist Edwin Daugherty, to multi-instrumentalists Sam Thousand, MAIA and fusion artist Micah Collier, First Monday Jazz has welcomed over 100 outstanding musicians to the Arts Block.
First Monday Jazz 2023 The Origins & Evolution of Jazz
Launched in 2013 as APL’s signature series, First Monday Jazz is a monthly ode to the deep cultural history of the Arts Block and Washington Park. With a musical legacy that can be traced to the early 1940s, the Arts Block transforms on the first Monday of each month as an impressive roster of Chicago-based musicians take the stage to amplify the history of artistic expression still present in our vibrant South Side community. To celebrate this ten year milestone, Arts + Public Life is dedicating an entire year of its First Monday Jazz programming to artists that exemplify the ever evolving landscape of this musical tradition, from its rooted beginnings to its blossoming future.
SWINGLAND CAFÉ, APRIL 1941.
“Negro cabaret, South Side Chicago.”
The Boyd Atkins Band. Acetate negative taken by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration.
“Garfield [Blvd] is Chicago’s answer to Harlem’s Seventh Avenue: an all-night blaze of dance, drink, and gambling – to name a few of the prevailing means of jollification – every minute fired by the hot and sexy swing of jazz … when the big bands finish their shows at the Regal or the Savoy on 47th Street, the Great White Way of the black metropolis, East Garfield is where the musicians come to jam the rest of the night.”
-Michael Solot, “It’s Really Gone, Man.” Chicago Reader, Vol. 22, No. 30 (May 1993)
2023 First Monday Jazz Performers
Margaret Murphy-Webb
Alexis Lombre + Quartet
Nanette Frank
Marques Carroll + Quintet
JoVia Armstrong + Eunoia Society
Guru Tonic (Chuck Webb)
DiKobe Knight
Larry Brown Jr
Felena Bunn
Urban Horizons (Rahsaan Nance)
2024 First Monday Jazz Performers
Robin DaSilva
Maia the Artist
Ed Daughtery
Micah Collier
Jeremiah Collier
ASCENDANT
Taylor Iman
Carmani Edwards
Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival (CAAJF)
2025 First Monday Jazz Performers
Theo Reed and his Jazz Friends
The South Side Big Band
TocaLive
Tom Tom's Big Band
Clif Wallace Big Band
First Monday Jazz 2026 Performers
Pharez Whitted Quintet
Bobby Broom Trio
Chicago Soul Jazz Collective
Clif Wallace Big Band
First Monday Jazz 2024
First Monday Jazz 2026
First Monday Jazz 2025: Big Band Summer took us on a journey back to the golden age of big band jazz in Chicago. As the 1920s exploded with musical energy from the South mixed with a growing nightlife culture, Chicago became an epicenter where the raw spirit of early jazz blossomed into the power of larger ensembles. Imagine the scene: bustling cabarets, elegant ballrooms like the Savoy (on 47th and King Drive), and grand theaters such as the Regal hosting musical forces that would define an era. In this electric atmosphere, bandleaders like the legendary Earl Hines helped shape the big band sound, known for its tight arrangements, bold horn sections, and driving rhythm perfect for dancing.
First Monday Jazz Big Band Summer was co-curated by renowned Chicago musician and band leader Theophilus Reed. Theo’s dynamic curation brought the spirit of the big band era to life, filling the Arts Lawn with bold, brassy sounds under the summer sky in Washington Park.