Geraldine de Haas, a vivacious vocalist and pioneering jazz impresario who shaped Chicago's jazz scene for over four decades, died on July 28, 2026, at Englewood Health Hospital. She was 91. Her son, actor and singer Darius de Haas, announced her death, citing natural causes.
De Haas first gained fame as a member of the sibling group Andy and the Bey Sisters in the 1950s and 1960s, blending jazz, gospel, and soul in a way that foreshadowed later vocal groups like The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6. The trio, which included her brother Andy Bey and sister Salome Bey, recorded for RCA Victor and Prestige, and toured Europe for 16 months, performing at the Paris Blue Note and even appearing in a jam session with Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Clarke.
After the group disbanded in 1967, de Haas moved to Chicago with her husband, bassist Edgar de Haas, and began producing jazz events. When Duke Ellington died in 1974, she organized a tribute concert in Grant Park that united the city's jazz community and eventually grew into the Chicago Jazz Festival. As Howard Reich, former Chicago Tribune jazz critic, noted, "The Duke Ellington tribute concert she created in Chicago's Grant Park in 1974 made possible the now-famous Chicago Jazz Festival."
De Haas's influence extended beyond production. She founded Jazz Unites, Inc. in 1981 to bring jazz to the public, and served as the Director of Performing Arts at the Illinois Arts Council from 1983 to 1993. She also mentored younger artists, including Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling, who said, "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.'"
Her contributions were widely recognized. She received 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, among others. Singer Tammy McCann praised her selflessness: "Her outstanding talents soared without an ounce of ego or competition, only collaboration and excellence."
De Haas's mission was to make jazz accessible to all. As she told PBS's Chicago Tonight, the success of her Ellington tribute showed "many people from every corner of this city gathered to hear this wonderful music." Her son Darius remembers her impact, saying, "She saw something in me and other young artists and elevated the level of our performance in such a thoughtful way."
Geraldine de Haas is survived by her son Darius, her daughter Aisha de Haas, and her son-in-law Kyle Rudy. She was preceded in death by her husband Edgar, her brother Andy, and her sister Salome. A celebration of her life will be announced at a later date.
