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Detroit Jazz Festival

2025 Lineup Announcement

FREE LIVE STREAM

Call For New Works

2025 Open Artist Submission

Instagram @detroitjazzfest

Last year the Jauron Perry Quintet won the Detroit

Last year the Jauron Perry Quintet won the Detroit Jazz Festival Collegiate Combo Competition presented by Central Michigan University. This year, will it be your group? 🎷 This summer competition seeks to reward those student musicians who have developed the discipline, artistry and professionalism to thrive in this competitive and demanding environment. 📍A $2,000 prize goes to the winning combo, and a spot on the festival stage Labor Day weekend. Find the application and more details at the 🔗 in our bio. #jazz #detroit #jazzeducation #nextgenjazz @cmuniversity @jpsoultrpt

TONIGHT! We’re back at the Gretchen C. Valade Ja

TONIGHT! We’re back at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at Wayne State University to tape two FREE shows for future Jazz From the Cellar airing. First up, the fabulous Joan Belgrave, 🎤 with a set starting at 5:30 p.m. Following Joan is pianist Jacob Hart 🎹, another Carolyn Patrick-Wanzo and Friends-supported Next Generation of Detroit Jazz player. He starts at 6:40 p.m. Doors open at 5 at the corner of Cass and Hancock (enter on the Hancock side). You will not find a better way to spend a Monday night. See you there! #jazz #detroit #nextgenjazzdetroit

WHEELS UP! The Detroit Jazz Festival All-Star Gene

WHEELS UP! The Detroit Jazz Festival All-Star Generations Band leaves today for Japan! 🇯🇵Comprised of some of the most exciting young players in the area – Allen Dennard (trumpet), Rocco Popielarski (bass), Louis Jones III (drums), Kasan Belgrave (sax) and Tom Bartelmay (guitar) – will be touring in a cultural exchange initiative between Detroit and that jazz-loving nation, spreading the beauty of the music. 🎶 Follow along here for updates as they make their way.
#detroit #jazz #japan #detroitjazz #japanjazz @al_kay313 @roccosolid @wavylou_ @baskasanball @tombartelmay_guitar

TONIGHT: Technical difficulties foiled the planned

TONIGHT: Technical difficulties foiled the planned Evening Star performance playback last week, so we're trying again tonight! Stop by at 9 p.m. ET on Facebook Live, YouTube or our website, detroitjazzfest.org, to see Tariq Gardner and friends lay it down at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at Wayne State University.
@riq.rogue @eveningstarmusic @caelin_amin #jazz #detroit #nextgenjazzdetroit

Show your appreciation for the late Gretchen C. Va

Show your appreciation for the late Gretchen C. Valade's outstanding legacy and generosity with the 2025 Angel of Jazz commemorative pin. This die-cast metal pin celebrates Ms. Valade’s passion for Detroit music and jazz worldwide. The 2025 limited edition pin features 🎶 musical notes from Valade's original composition, "Lights of Detroit.” Available for order now at the Detroit Jazz Festival online store; 🔗 in bio

These FREE Jazz From the Cellar shows at the Gretc

These FREE Jazz From the Cellar shows at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at Wayne State University keep getting better! This Monday, April 28, we’ll be bringing you sets by the talented and radiant 🎤 Joan Belgrave (from 5:30-6:30 p.m.) and a second by pianist 🎹 Jacob Hart, another Next Generation of Detroit Jazz artist supported by Carolyn Patrick-Wanzo and friends, who will follow at 6:40 p.m. Doors open at 5 for the best FREE entertainment around! ➡️The Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center is at the corner of Cass and Hancock in midtown Detroit -- enter on the Hancock side.

Before last week's Preview Event, Jason Moran, the

Before last week's Preview Event, Jason Moran, the Detroit Jazz Festival's 2025 Artist-in-Residence, sat down for a chat with WDET 101.9FM "In the Groove" host Ryan Patrick Hooper. Their interview aired last week, and if you missed it, you can check the April 18 recording on the show's page. 📻 Drag the slider to the 2:15 mark. Jason is a great talker, and a great teacher. https://wdet.org/shows/groove/4/
#jazz #detroit @thejasonmoran @wdetdetroit @ryanpatrickhooper

CALLING ALL HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ STUDENTS! J.C. Heard

CALLING ALL HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ STUDENTS! J.C. Heard JazzWeek@Wayne is one of the best ways for an aspiring player to level up your skills, in a one-week, on-campus intensive. And in the tradition of the Detroit Jazz Festival, it’s FREE. Admission is competitive, and auditions are coming up. Good luck to all! Find the details, and a registration link, at the 🔗 in our bio.

TONIGHT: Jazz From the Cellar returns with a set r

TONIGHT: Jazz From the Cellar returns with a set recorded last month at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at Wayne State University. It's Tariq Gardner and Evening Star, with Coleman Ward on vocals, Caelin Amin on bass and LeRoy Mickens at the piano. Catch it at 9 p.m. ET on Facebook Live, YouTube or our website, detroitjazzfest.org #jazz #detroit @riq.rogue @eveningstarmusic @caelin_amin

You can't put on a show without the people who wor

You can't put on a show without the people who work behind the scenes to make it happen, and the Jazz Goes to College scholarships are designed to encourage students interested in the theatrical trades. Co-sponsored by I.A.T.S.E. Local 38, the $2,500 awards are for the theater- or music-tech student who has shown initiative, professionalism and a positive attitude, while pursuing credits toward a tech degree in this competitive and demanding environment. Find the application and more details here – https://bit.ly/4joxdld – or for Insta users, at the link in our bio.

A few moments from the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival

A few moments from the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival Preview Event, featuring Artist-in-Residence @thejasonmoran

Jason Moran, the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival Artist

Jason Moran, the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival Artist-in-Residence, gave generously of his expertise Tuesday, holding a clinic for jazz students at Wayne State University in the morning. Afterward, he crossed the street to the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, where he offered a taste of his planned performances at this year’s festival, followed by a great solo piano 🎹 performance. Moran, a true artist at the keyboard, even offered a tribute to Detroit techno on the center’s Steinway! We can’t wait to hear him Labor Day weekend. @thejasonmoran #jazz #detroit #jazzeducation

32 Bar Blues

Michelob Ultra Fabian Brothers

Display Group

Downtown Detroit Partnership

Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center Wayne State University

JPMorganChase

Utopia Gardens

Brian Blade at drums

Roberta Gambarini

Christian McBride & Inside Straight

Carmen Lundy

Alice Coltrane

Wendell Harrison

Ghost-Note

James Blood Ulmer Music Revelation Ensemble

Joshua Redman

Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott)

Walter White Big Band

Nate Smith

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For over 40 years, the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation has celebrated Detroit’s rich history of jazz music by providing year-round concerts and educational programming, and of course, organizing the world’s largest free Jazz festival, featuring world-class talent, over Labor Day weekend.

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