Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

Geraldine de Haas, who helped shape city's jazz scene, dies at 91

suntimes.com · 4dShare

Geraldine "The Jazz Lady" de Haas, who was the driving force behind the creation of the annual Chicago Jazz Festival, died July 28 from natural causes. She was 91 and had moved from her South Side home to New Jersey 13 years ago to be closer to family. In 1974, following jazz great Duke Ellington's death, Mrs. de Haas helped organize a tribute to Ellington in Grant Park that became an annual event and united the city's jazz community. It evolved into the city's first Chicago Jazz Festival in 1979. Programming of the event was eventually assumed by the Jazz Institute of Chicago, leading Mrs. de Haas to focus on creating the South Shore Jazz Fest — which was held at the South Shore Cultural Center from 1981 to 2012. "My mother's legacy in Chicago is one of great fortitude and persistence in establishing America's original art form, jazz, and making Chicago a hub of that original art form," said her son, Darius de Haas. Mrs. de Haas said in a 2012 interview on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" tha

First report: The ‘first lady of Chicago jazz,’ Geraldine de Haas dies at 91 — unionleader.com, 5d