This is a great Chicago institution that the real hard core jazz lover in Chicago will eventually find himself knowing.
They are the ones that are responsible for the programming at the annual free jazz festival held in Grant Park on labor day weekend.
They also sponsor a great indoor jazz fest around the third week in January that used to be privately funded but has recently been sponsored by the city of Chicago. They use the cultural center and surrounding facilities. You can hear great jazz artists close up in a smoke free environment for free. Don't get much better than that!
http://www.jazzinstituteofchicago.org/
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