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 de Haas's decades of work as a vocalist, producer, presenter, mentor, and advocate who 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 will 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 is significant for Chicago's arts community because it brings together those who knew de Haas 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.
Geraldine 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 the city's 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 at the Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts will serve as a public opportunity to recognize that legacy. For readers in Chicago's cultural and nonprofit sectors, the event underscores the enduring influence of an arts leader whose work continues through the artists, festivals, audiences, and institutions she helped nurture.
