The original Jazz in the Courtyard concerts began in 2007 as a creative way to attract more people to the landscaped courtyard area at the Hyde Park Shopping Center at 55th Street and S. Lake Park Avenue. The concert series was the idea of Scott Mosak, General Manager of McCaffery Interests, the property management company for the Hyde Park Shopping Center.
One of the first performers was Mosak's friend, Morikeba Kouyate, a griot (African troubadour/historian), and kora player (West African stringed instrument). Kouyate performed for several years, until Mosak had a chance meeting with Carolyn Albritton at a local coffee shop. Albritton is a Hyde Park legend - she has booked talent for the city’s top clubs and restaurants, and was also one of the founders of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, begun in 2007. Albritton has been responsible for promoting the Chicago jazz scene as well as other music genres and comedy on the South Side, and is known for spotting undiscovered talents who are now household names.
Albritton became the official programmer of Jazz in the Courtyard in 2009, bringing some of jazz's most notable musicians to Hyde Park. Those daytime summer concerts have always been pure joy - shared with friends in folding chairs, enjoying a picnic lunch from home or burgers and hotdogs from the Treasure Island grill.
The concert series was on hiatus due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, but is back for 2022, this time in Harper Court (5235 S. Harper Court) to allow more room for concertgoers.
Join us from 12-2:30 p.m. on the first Fridays of June, July, August, and September as we celebrate summer and Hyde Park's shared love of jazz!
