Family, friends, musicians, colleagues and members of Chicago's arts community will gather on November 4 at 7:00 p.m. at the Logan Center, 915 E. 60th Street, in Chicago for a Musical Memorial Celebration honoring the life and legacy of Geraldine de Haas. The evening will celebrate the extraordinary life and career of de Haas, whose decades of work as a vocalist, producer, presenter, mentor, and advocate helped shape Chicago's jazz community. Through music and personal remembrance, the celebration will honor a woman whose commitment to making jazz accessible to broad audiences left a lasting mark on the cultural life of Chicago.
Performers and speakers include Tammy McCann, Orbert Davis, Miguel de La Cerna Trio, Bethany Pickens, Aisha de Haas, Darius de Haas, Howard Reich, Heather Ireland Robinson and others. The event's significance extends beyond remembrance: it underscores the enduring influence of a figure whose institutional legacy continues to shape the city's cultural landscape. De Haas first came to Chicago in 1968 with her husband, bassist Edgar "Eddie" de Haas. Before and during her years in Chicago, she established a career as a vocalist, including performing internationally with her siblings Andy Bey and Salome Bey as Andy and the Bey Sisters. She later became deeply involved in Chicago's theater scene, performing in the national companies of "Hair" and "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope," and in its music communities.
In 1974, following the death of Duke Ellington, de Haas helped organize a tribute concert in Grant Park. That event ultimately developed into what became the Chicago Jazz Festival, one of the city's signature annual musical traditions. She also founded and led the South Shore Jazz Festival, while continuing to produce programs and advocate for opportunities for musicians and audiences throughout Chicago. Her commitment to the arts extended beyond presenting concerts. In 1981, she founded Jazz Unites, Inc., an organization dedicated to expanding appreciation for jazz and using music as a means of education and cultural connection. Her work included concerts, educational programs, workshops, master classes, festivals, and opportunities for emerging and established artists.
De Haas died on July 28, 2026, at the age of 91. Her death was reported around the world, but especially by Chicago news organizations, which highlighted her decades-long contribution to the city's jazz community and her role in helping establish the Chicago Jazz Festival. The November 4 celebration will bring together those who knew Geraldine personally and professionally, as well as members of the wider community whose lives were touched by her work. The evening will use music as its central language of remembrance, reflecting the art form to which she devoted so much of her life. The memorial also serves as a reminder of the fragile, often underrecognized networks of advocacy that sustain major cultural institutions, and of the individuals whose vision can transform a single tribute concert into a civic tradition.
