Jazz: 2013-2014 Season

Upcoming Events

• KC Jazz Club: Grace Kelly

  Fri., Oct. 4, 2013 | On Sale 8/7/13
  A virtuosic musician and songwriter who has "intelligence, wit, and feeling" in her music according to jazz great Wynton Marsalis, saxophonist Grace Kelly has a growing list of triumphs, including four ASCAP Foundation's Young Jazz Composers Awards.

• Cecil Taylor, Solo Piano
  With Jason Moran

  Sat., Oct. 5, 2013, 7:30 PM | On Sale 8/7/13
  A pioneer of free jazz, NEA Jazz Master Cecil Taylor offers a solo piano and poetry performance showcasing his brilliance as an artistic philosopher, with pianist Jason Moran providing an opening set. Produced in association with Jill Newman Productions.

• ACS: Allen, Carrington, Spalding

  Fri., Oct. 11, 2013 | On Sale 8/7/13
  Formed out of their work together on Carrington's Grammy-winning album The Mosaic Project, ACS gathers three of the most important female instrumentalists in jazz: pianist Geri Allen, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, and bassist Esperanza Spalding.

• KC Jazz Club: Winard Harper and Jeli Posse

  Fri., Oct. 18, 2013 | On Sale 8/7/13
  

• KC Jazz Club: Javon Jackson, We Four: Celebrating John Coltrane, with Jimmy Cobb

  Sat., Oct. 19, 2013 | On Sale 8/7/13
  Saxophonist Javon Jackson combines talents with legendary jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb for an original project highlighting the immortal music of saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.

• KC Jazz Club: Curtis Fuller Brasstet

  Fri., Nov. 1, 2013 | On Sale 8/7/13
  

• Django Reinhardt Festival All-Stars

  Sat., Nov. 2, 2013 | On Sale 8/7/13
  Showcasing the intricacies of the authentic Django Reinhardt style, the Django Reinhardt Festival All-Stars return featuring guitar virtuoso Dorado Schmitt.

• Something to Sing About: Kathleen Battle, soprano
  with Cyrus Chestnut, piano

  Fri., Nov. 15, 2013, 8:00 PM | On Sale 8/7/13
  Soprano Kathleen Battle, whose voice has been called "one of the very few most beautiful in the world" (Washington Post), joins forces with jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut to perform music by Gershwin, Ellington, Joplin, and others.

• NPR's A Jazz Piano Christmas

  Sat., Dec. 7, 2013 | On Sale 9/10/13
  Join the Kennedy Center and NPR as top jazz pianists perform their favorite holiday songs in a program hosted by Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor for Jazz Jason Moran.

• 50 Years: The Life, Passion, and Music of Arturo Sandoval

  Sat., Dec. 14, 2013, 8:00 PM | On Sale 10/2/13
  To mark his 50th year as a performer, trumpet master Arturo Sandoval is joined for a one-night-only concert with an all-star cast of friends and colleagues: Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Bill Cosby, Andy Garcia, Pat Metheny, and Doc Severinsen.

• A Jazz New Year's Eve: Straighten Up and Fly Right, The Nat King Cole Tribute with Ramsey Lewis & John Pizzarelli

  Tue., Dec. 31, 2013 | On Sale 9/10/13
  Ring in 2014 with NEA Jazz Master pianist Ramsey Lewis and guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli as they pay homage to Nat King Cole, whose smoky, smooth vocals spawned a long string of solid hits starting with "Straighten Up And Fly Right."

• Supersized Jazz Club: Roy Hargrove's RH Factor

  Sat., Jan. 18, 2014 | On Sale 10/2/13
  Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove brings his progressive jazz ensemble the RH Factor to the Supersized Jazz Club in a high-energy performance combining soul, jazz, funk, and hip-hop.

• KC Jazz Club: Oscar Peñas

  Fri., Feb. 7, 2014 | On Sale 12/4/13
  Spanish jazz guitarist and composer Oscar Peñas makes his KC Jazz Club debut playing his unique style of music that has been described as "transnational cool," fusing traditional jazz with hints of flamenco and South American grooves.

• Ann Hampton Callaway

  Fri., Feb. 14, 2014 | On Sale 12/4/13
  Spend Valentine's Day with singer-songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway, who is known for her sparkling jazz renditions from the Great American Songbook, and her clever, contemporary originals.

• KC Jazz Club: Cedar Walton

  Sat., Feb. 22, 2014 | On Sale 12/4/13
  

• KC Jazz Club: Gerald Clayton Trio

  Fri., Feb. 28, 2014 | On Sale 12/4/13
  

• KC Jazz Club: Jamison Ross and Joy Ride

  Fri., Feb. 28, 2014 | On Sale 12/4/13
  An alumnus of Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, drummer Jamison Ross, winner of the 2012 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition, returns to the Kennedy Center with his band Joy Ride.

• KC Jazz Club: The Revive Big Band

  Sat., Apr. 5, 2014 | On Sale 2/5/14
  With a contemporary groove housed in a traditional jazz context, New York's Revive Big Band led by trumpeter Igmar Thomas blends original works flavored with hip-hop, R&B, and sampled jazz recordings.

• KC Jazz Club: Kevin Mahogany

  Sat., Apr. 26, 2014 | On Sale 2/5/14
  Vocalist Kevin Mahogany returns to the Kennedy Center with a blues-heavy set celebrating his 20-year career as an artist with a gift for bebop, ballads, blues, and swinging jazz.

• Terence Blanchard Quintet

  Fri., May 9, 2014 | On Sale 2/5/14
  A multi-Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and Blue Note artist, Terence Blanchard returns to the Center with his quintet for the first time in three years to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records.

• Supersized Jazz Club: Robert Glasper

  Sat., May 10, 2014 | On Sale 2/5/14
  Grammy-winning hip-hop jazz pianist Robert Glasper brings his spontaneous spirit of adventure and experimentation to the Kennedy Center in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records.

• Blue Note at 75, The Concert

  Sun., May 11, 2014, 7:00 PM | On Sale 2/5/14
  As the culminating event of a celebration of the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records, artists from the iconic label's roster perform: Norah Jones, Cassandra Wilson, and Jason Moran, among others.

• 19th Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival

  May 23 - 24, 2014 | On Sale 2/5/14
  Celebrate the life, legacy, and career of legendary pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams with the Kennedy Center's 19th annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival.

All programs are subject to change. List of all Jazz Performances