Chicago celebrates the season with a variety of major jazz festivals, but only one embraces the city’s glorious waterfront: JazzFest, the annual swing soiree outside the South Shore Cultural Center. The beach scene at 71st Street and South Shore Drive serves as more than just the backdrop for Chicago’s best neighborhood jazz gathering: It reminds listeners of the immutable links between jazz and water. The Mississippi River, after all, linked jazz towns from New Orleans to Memphis to St. Louis and beyond. This year, JazzFest–produced by the indispensable Jazz Unites organization–will run Aug. 5 and 6. Expect local legends and visiting headliners, as well as the cheerful sounds of kids making a splash.