A beloved Denver outdoor summer music tradition will return from an off-key pandemic year when City Park Jazz launches its 35th free season on June 13 and continuing every Sunday evening through August 8.

The eclectic lineup includes Colorado Music Hall of Famer Chris Daniels, saxophone superstar Nelson Rangell and local musical-theater star (and “American Idol” contestant) SUCH.

Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors will headline the Fourth of July gathering, and a special event celebrating Denver’s jazz heritage will be held July 25 featuring the El Chapultepec All Stars and Freddy Rodriguez Jr.

He will be celebrating the life of his father, Denver jazz legend Freddy Rodriguez Sr., who died of COVID in March 2020. The El Chapultepec jazz club, which stood at 20th and Market Streets in downtown Denver for 87 years, closed in December.

Since 1986, City Park Jazz has featured all-local jazz and blues musicians performing on Sunday evenings throughout the summer, drawing up to 12,000 from all over Colorado. Last summer’s pandemic has been the annual tradition’s only interruption.

“Last year was tough for the whole world, but Denver’s been on their game, getting vaccinated and pulling together as a community to lift each other up,” said Andy Bercaw, president of the all-volunteer nonprofit. “And that’s what City Park Jazz is, after all: a celebration of community.”