Nick Collins Sextet

Hart Plaza

Marion Hayden and Legacy with special guest Kamau Kenyatta

Tiffany Gridiron is a gifted jazz vocalist and songwriter who radiates joy and generosity on stage, even when singing the most haunting of songs. Her sultry vocals and playful approach have excited audiences in the United States, Japan, Finland and South Korea.

Tiffany Gridiron & Friends

Drummer, composer, and educator Louis M. Jones III is a powerful force on Detroit’s vibrant jazz scene. A Detroit native, Louis discovered his love for rhythm early—starting out on wooden spoons before graduating to drumsticks, brushes, and mallets. By age 11, he knew music would be his life’s work. Deeply rooted in Detroit’s rich musical legacy, Louis has studied under jazz greats such as Wendell Harrison, Marion Hayden, and Sean Dobbins, each helping shape his sound and sensibility.

Louis Jones III & The Flood

James Francies Trio

Cadillac Square

Kris Davis is a Grammy award-winning pianist and composer described by The New York Times as a beacon for “deciding where to hear jazz on a given night.”

Kris Davis Trio feat. Robert Hurst & Johnathan Blake

John Scofield Quartet featuring Vicente Archer, Bill Stewart and Nicholas Payton.

John Scofield Quartet

Walter Smith III Quartet

Pianist, producer, DJ, and composer Ian Fink (Ian Finkelstein) is a key force in the next generation of Detroit jazz innovators. Known for his virtuosity, versatility, and dynamic performances, he has consistently experimented while building a wide-ranging audience within Detroit’s music community and far beyond. In addition to touring internationally with Kassa Overall and Shigeto, Ian has shared the stage with artists such as Benny Golson, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Karriem Riggins. His keys can be heard on tracks by Earl Sweatshirt (“Fire In The Hole”), Robert Hurst and Black Milk, among many others. He operates a record label called Freak Press, founded in 2017. A student and protegé of both Marcus Belgrave and Geri Allen, Ian is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and an alumni of the DSO’s Civic Ensembles. He is a 2024 Kresge Artist Fellow and a 2024 Spirit of Detroit honoree.

Ian Fink

Zambra (from the Arabic word for “gathering”) is a groundbreaking quintet that weaves together diverse musical traditions from across the globe, comprised of Devon Gates (bass, Atlanta, GA), Ria Modak (guitar, NYC), Angela Varo Moreno (violin, Andalusia, Spain), Bahar Badieitabar (oud, Tehran, Iran), and Queralt Giralt (cello, Catalonia, Spain). This unique collaboration brings together five exceptional musicians from varying musical backgrounds to create a harmonious fusion of flamenco, Romani, Persian classical, Indian, Catalonian, and jazz traditions. Through original compositions and imaginative arrangements of traditional melodies, Zambra celebrates cultural connection, sisterhood, and the art of improvisation. Their performances create intimate sonic worlds grounded in deep friendship and mutual respect, inviting both musicians and audiences into spaces of vulnerability and creative discovery.

Zambra

Experience a transcendent evening of Jazz artistry during the renowned Detroit Jazz Festival, North America’s premier Jazz celebration, headlined by the illustrious Rodney Whitaker, a newly elected member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Sciences. This acclaimed Jazz bassist, a titan of innovation, leads a phenomenal ensemble. Joining Whitaker are titans of their respective instruments: the percussive force of drummer Clarence Penn; the emotive tenor sax stylings of Tim Warfield; the dazzling trumpet virtuosity of Terell Stafford; the masterful trombone artistry of Michael Dease; and the brilliantly expressive piano of Xavier Davis. This exceptional group performs a captivating program. The setlist encompasses the enduring legacy of Jazz tenor saxophone legend Joe Henderson, interwoven with selections from Kenny Durham’s celebrated catalogue and beloved standards. Prepare for an unforgettable experience; the performance promises to enthrall, uplift, and utterly captivate. This exceptional concert is sure to leave even the most discerning Jazz connoisseur breathless with awe and exhilaration.

Rodney Whitaker Sextet

Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center

Quarteto Americanos is Omar Sosa’s first U.S.-based jazz ensemble since the 1990s! Featuring drummer Josh Jones, bassist Ernesto Mazar Kindelán, and saxophone / clarinet / flute player Sheldon Brown, the group came together in February 2021 when Omar was in the Bay Area for several live streams. Connecting with Josh and Sheldon was a gratifying reunion for Omar, as he played extensively with them during his early days in San Francisco and Oakland in the late 1990s. Josh Jones’ Trio at the time, including Omar and bassist Geoff Brennan, played frequently at Bay Area clubs. Josh remains one of Omar’s favorite drummers – a versatile musician and educator equally at home in Latin, jazz, hip-hop, and fusion styles. Sheldon Brown was a member of Omar’s first Septet ensemble in the Bay Area, performing in San Francisco and Oakland and around the world in support of Omar’s earliest recording projects, ‘Free Roots’, ‘Spirit of the Roots’, and ‘Bembón’, also known as the Roots Trilogy. Sheldon is a talented composer, arranger and producer whose first recording, ‘Shifting Currents‘, caught Omar’s ear when he first moved to San Francisco in 1995. Ernesto Mazar Kindelán is a dynamic Cuban musician who came to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014 following a ten-year stint with Charanga Habanera, the celebrated Cuban timba band from Havana.

Omar Sosa Quarteto Americanos

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet. After more than three decades of existence with minimal personnel changes, this celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. After the Grammy‐nominated Upward Spiral, on which guest vocalist Kurt Elling was seamlessly integrated into the group, the Quartet followed up with the Grammy‐nominated The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, its most emotionally wide‐ranging and melody driven collection to date. John Zeugner captured the impact of the Quartet in live performance in a recent concert review, calling it “casually confident, professional, cerebral, and supercharged with energy.  The Branford Marsalis Quartet…was all of those adjectives and more.” This spring the Quartet makes its Blue Note Records debut with the March 28 release of Belonging, a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 ECM album of the same name.

Branford Marsalis Quartet

We are living in strange times. Pandemics, Political upheaval, Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon, Artificial Intelligence. Life feels like a B roll movie. We acclimate to the unexpected. Throughout day to day life there are flashes of unreality, as if nothing is as perceived. This is Waking Dream, sometimes it can feel like a nightmare as well. This futuristic octet features five premier guitarists and a power house rhythm section. It is textural and symphonic at times, while firmly rooted in hard bop and the blues. The Detroit Jazz Festival will be the CD release for the groups debut release. With no established precedent, this is a unique fusion of styles and sounds.

Randy Napoleon and Waking Dream

Connie Han Trio

Jason Moran as the Artist-in-Residence for the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival.

Jason Moran

Cuban pianist, composer, and arranger Chucho Valdés is the most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz. In a career spanning more than 60 years, both as a solo artist and bandleader, Mr. Valdés has distilled elements of the Afro-Cuban music tradition, jazz, classical music, rock, and more, into a deeply personal style.

Chucho Valdés & Paquito D’Rivera Reunion Sextet

To witness a live performance by the alto saxophonist, MC, and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin is to never forget it.

Lakecia Benjamin

Tottori Jazz has been collaborating with the Detroit Jazz Festival since 2019. In 2024, a band centered around Tottori University students, The Bop’s , performed at the Detroit Jazz Festival. This time, Takumi Inoue, the leader of The Bop’s , will invite Himiko Kikuchi, the representative of Tottori Jazz, to perform as “Takumi Inoue Quartet featuring Himiko Kikuchi.” The set will showcase Inoue’s original compositions, combining the musicality of Tottori with traditional jazz. Having steadily expanded their activities since their debut at the DJF last year, the group will deliver the unique sound of Tottori’s music scene.

Tottori Jazz Mission – Takumi Inoue Quartet featuring Himiko Kikuchi

Zen Zadravec, jazz pianist and saxophonist, is a true musical chameleon. Whether performing jazz, R&B, funk, rock, or pop, he brings a freshness and confidence rarely found in a musician of his generation. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1974, Zadravec began studying classical piano at the age of five. By eleven, he had also taken up the saxophone and flute. A transformative encounter with the music of Miles Davis ultimately inspired his decision to pursue jazz as his life’s calling. In 1992, Zadravec enrolled in the Jazz Program at York University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1997. During his studies, he was twice honored with the prestigious Oscar Peterson Award for excellence in jazz piano performance. He went on to complete a Graduate Degree in Jazz Performance at Rutgers University in 2000. Zadravec has studied with several jazz greats, including Kenny Barron, Don Thompson, John Gittens, Vic Juris, Ted Dunbar, and Ralph Bowen. His approach is versatile, creative, and energetic, constantly evolving through performance, recording, and education.

Zen Zadravec

Detroit native Carter shared his childhood home with five musically inclined siblings in “a house filled with all manner of sounds, from The Beatles to Funk and Hendrix.”

The Jazz influence came from Carter’s mother who “brought the voices of greats like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald into my life.” It was his mother who in 1980 took young Carter to see the Count Basie Orchestra at the Detroit Music Hall, where the big-band sound made a lasting impression, but it was a World Saxophone Quartet concert two years later that would set music as a path for life. “To watch four saxophonists individually and collectively, literally shred the stage” recalls Carter, “it sparked a furnace inside of me that won’t quit to this day.”

James Carter Organ Trio

Acclaimed guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli celebrates the 40th anniversary of his debut album with a collection of classic songs from Broadway and Hollywood.

John Pizzarelli

Master Kenny Barron started his career as a teenager with Philly Joe Jones and moved to New York at 19, playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Yusef Lateef. A prolific bandleader, Barron has recorded over 40 albums and has earned 14 Grammy® nominations. A dedicated educator, he taught at Rutgers University for nearly 30 years, mentoring artists like Terence Blanchard and David Sánchez. In 2009 he received the Living Legacy Award from Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame and won a MAC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He is an eight-time recipient of Best Pianist by the Jazz Journalists Association.

Kenny Barron Voices featuring Tyreek McDole

Maria Schneider Orchestra

William Hill III Trio offers a distinctive jazz experience by seamlessly blending traditional bebop and straight-ahead jazz with elements from the broader Black American Music diaspora, including blues, R&B, gospel, and funk. This fusion results in performances that are both deeply rooted in jazz traditions and refreshingly innovative.

William Hill III

G S L is new to the scene, put together by veteran Gayelynn McKinney to, showcase the up and coming & talented young women in jazz. These young ladies have already been making their mark on the music scene. G S L’s performance will be a mix of traditional jazz with a twist, some odd meter music, original music, sprinkled with some funk. Gayelynn, Sequoia & Laura, (G S L) will bring a fresh new sound and energy to the stage, that you will enjoy.

G S L

Allen Dennard Quartet

Swiss-born and Brooklyn-based, Tatiana Eva-Marie is a celebrated jazz vocalist known for blending French, Balkan, and American influences. Raised in a musical family, she found her voice singing in the streets of Paris before establishing herself on international stages. Her music draws inspiration from Parisian jazz of the 1920s–60s, Gypsy melodies, and the Great American Songbook, reinterpreting works by Django Reinhardt and Cole Porter alongside her own original arrangements. In 2024, Eva-Marie premiered her first opera in Switzerland and released Djangology on GroundUp Music. Her warm, nostalgic style captures her multicultural heritage and deep love of jazz tradition.

Tatiana Eva-Marie “Paris Je Taime”

Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised Recording Artist, Bassist, and Composer. She has been mentored by Jazz Icons the likes of Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, and Ron Carter. She has toured and performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Rhonda Ross, Solange, Jon Batiste, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Cyrus Chestnut to name a few.

In 2018, Endea graduated from The Juilliard School, and joined the Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a member of the house band, Stay Human. Since then, Endea has won an Emmy, Grammy Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award. Endea’s work has appeared on Jon Batiste’s Grammy Award-winning album “We Are”, Oscar-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah, and H.E.R’s widely acclaimed Super Bowl LV performance.

Endea Owens & The Cookout

Hiromi’s Sonicwonder

Herlin Riley Quartet

The Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation is thrilled to present pianist, composer, and artist Jason Moran as the Artist-in-Residence for the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival with special guest Jessica Care Moore.

Artist-In-Residence Jason Moran and Jeff Mills

Pianist Emmet Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age 3. In 2011, he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. He recently won the Cole Porter Fellowship, which is awarded every four years by the American Pianists Association. In addition to leading his own trio (with Russell Hall and Kyle Poole), Cohen is a renowned Hammond B-3 specialist and member of Christian McBride’s trio Tip City, Tootie Heath Trio and the Herlin Riley Quartet. Cohen has performed with jazz luminaries such as Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Kurt Elling, Billy Hart and Brian Lynch. Cohen is the producer of the “Masters Legacy Series,” which features recordings and interviews honoring legendary jazz musicians. Since the beginning of the pandemic, he has been prolific in recording new music with a who’s-who of special guests, in his celebrated Monday night virtual series Live from Emmet’s Place.

Detroit Jazz Festival

Sep 1, 2025

Nick Collins Sextet

Sep 1, 2025

Marion Hayden and Legacy with special guest Kamau Kenyatta

Detroit Jazz Festival