In 2025, hundreds of music lovers came to Humboldt Park to hear the Donna Woodall Group, Samuel Catral Quartet, SUGO, Faculty and Youth Combos from Milwaukee Jazz Institute, Faith Hatch and Steve Peplin, John Christensen Quartet, Tlalok Rodriguez Latin Jazz Quintet, and The Prairie School Jazz Combo – KASE. And hundreds expanded their jazz experience by being exposed to excellent musicianship, old favorites, and mind-blowing innovation.
And thanks to the volunteers and donors of Humboldt Park Friends, both individual and corporate, these amazing experiences are free!
So much of our lives involve competition. Sports, politics, workplaces, status symbols — each is about who is better than whom. So, every night I get to Jazz at the Vine is a welcome relief. Musicians seek to be counterpoint, complement, accompaniment, instigation, retreat, insistence; they create new ideas, innovate. We get to witness their creativity; we see them fall in love with what they do. I think of these as moments of intimacy.
Nestled in the back of the pavilion, musicians engage enthusiasts who fill picnic benches, enjoy some food and beverages, and greet one another, building summer community with each performance. Some nights the crowds expand because families of the younger musicians wouldn’t miss their spotlight. Other evenings, new faces show their enthusiasm for a particular performer that they follow wherever they play. And, then there are also neighbors who just want to grab a beer and relax under the trees.
Every evening and day that the Vine is in operation, Humboldt Park Friends enjoy the benefits of Leslie’s hospitality and commitment to the community aspects of the Vine. Her training and supervision of staff leads to the grounds being in excellent shape before and after each shift. Her warm service ranges from the obvious tasks of beverage dispensing to locating parents of lost children and getting our jazz volunteers into the building when they need to.
Summer may feel like it is a long way off, but volunteers with Humboldt Park Friends are already active. They are considering groups for performances, checking the equipment — the amplifiers, speakers, mics, lights, tent — and developing budgets. They are thanking past sponsors, looking for new ones, and assessing our outreach and advertising.
Will you help make the 2026 season a success by contributing to Humboldt Park Friends with a year-end gift? If your resources allow, please also consider sponsoring a night at the Jazz at the Vine. You can contact us with your interest or any questions here.