Geraldine de Haas, the vivacious vocalist and pioneering jazz impresario known as the “Queen of Chicago Jazz,” died of natural causes on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at Englewood Health Hospital. She was 91. Her son, actor/singer Darius de Haas, announced her passing.
De Haas first gained international acclaim as a member of the sibling group Andy and The Bey Sisters in the 1950s and 1960s. The trio, which included her brother Andy Bey and sister Salome Bey, blended jazz, gospel, and soul, foreshadowing later vocal groups like The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6. They recorded three albums for RCA Victor and Prestige, and toured Europe, performing at the Paris Blue Note and appearing in a jam session with Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Clarke, which was filmed by Roger Vadim.
But it was her work as a producer and advocate in Chicago that cemented her legacy. In 1974, after Duke Ellington’s death, de Haas produced an Ellington tribute concert in Grant Park that united the city’s jazz community and eventually evolved into the now-famous Chicago Jazz Festival. Howard Reich, former Chicago Tribune jazz critic, said, “Geraldine de Haas was one of the most inspired and influential impresarios that Chicago – and jazz itself – has ever had. The Duke Ellington tribute concert she created in Chicago’s Grant Park in 1974 made possible the now-famous Chicago Jazz Festival.”
De Haas moved to Chicago in 1968 with her husband, bassist Edgar de Haas. While raising a family, she joined the Free Street Theater and performed in productions such as Hair and Showboat. In the early 1970s, she began producing jazz events. In 1981, she founded Jazz Unites, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing jazz to the public. She also served as Director of Performing Arts and Access Programs for the Illinois Arts Council from 1983 to 1993.
Her influence extended to mentoring younger artists. Two-time Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling recalled, “I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and mentor, Geraldine de Haas. As much as anyone of stature on the Chicago scene, she welcomed and encouraged me in my early years. In her gracious way, and by the example of her own performances, she showed me how to carry myself on stage, how to work with instrumentalists, how to connect with audiences, and how to sing ‘the real thing.'”
De Haas received numerous awards, including the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Chicago Jazz Magazine, and a 2010 Jazz Hero Award from the Jazz Journalists Association. She also recorded several local albums featuring big band renditions of songs by Gino Vannelli and Paul Anka.
In 2013, de Haas and her husband moved to Lambertville, NJ. She is survived by her son Darius, her daughter Aisha, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, brother Andy Bey, and sister Salome Bey.
De Haas’s tireless work was driven by a simple mission: to bring jazz to everyone. As she told Dr. Gloria Latimore-Peace on The H30 Art of Life TV show, “The key for me was to bring the best of the world to our community. People need to see what we have given to this world. That’s the only reason why I work.”
A celebration of her life will be announced later.
