Raw Cut: Bethany Pickens (Hyde Park Jazz Festival 2023)

The Chicago Maroon

The Maroon's Jake Zucker, William Kimani, and Gregory Caesar interview pianist, composer, and Hyde Park native Bethany Pickens, who performed live at the 2023 Hyde Park Jazz Festival with the Bethany Pickens Trio.

Bethany's bio:

"Bethany Pickens is an award-winning pianist, composer, and educator. Born in Chicago, she began her musical training under the watchful tutelage of her father, world-class jazz pianist Willie Pickens.

"As an educator, Pickens has worked with the Ravinia Jazz Scholars Program and the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Links Program, and is in her 25th year working for the Chicago Public Schools, currently teaching piano at her alma mater, Kenwood Academy. She also sits on the Board of the Jazz institute of Chicago and the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club." (hydeparkjazzfestival.org)

This interview was recorded at the Study at University of Chicago on Saturday, September 23, 2023. Photo courtesy of Jason Marck (WBEZ)