Latest news with #DetroitJazzFestival
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Detroit Jazz Festival reveals 2025 lineup for Labor Day weekend
The Detroit Jazz Festival – the world's largest free jazz festival – announced its 2025 lineup on April 15 during a livestreamed preview event at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, on the campus of Wayne State University. The evening featured live performances from the 2025 Artist-in-Residence Jason Moran, as well as the Detroit Jazz Festival All-Stars Generation Quintet. The partial lineup does not yet include a number of local musicians and acts, which still have until June 1 to submit applications. It does, however, include a constellation of national and international acts both new and returning, in a particularly muscular emphasis on straight-ahead jazz. 'We'll also have a number of surprises along the way,' Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation president and artistic director Chris Collins told the Free Press. 'There's a few things we have yet to announce, and we will look for some special events to happen here and there, (including) a couple of Midtown after-hours specials at the Gretchen Jazz Center. It's very special – and thank goodness for our sponsors and donors, it's still, once again, completely free after 47 years. It's unheard of, anywhere, to have this level of premier festival at no cost to attendees.' The 2025 partial lineup: Special Performance by 2025 Artist-In-Residence Jason Moran (TBA) Keyon Harrold: 'Foreverland' More: Detroit Jazz Festival announces 2025 artist in residence Maria Schneider Orchestra Kenny Barron Hiromi's Sonicwonder Chris Potter Trio featuring Matt Brewer and Kendrick Scott John Pizzarelli Endea Owens & The Cookout Herlin Riley Quartet Tatiana Eva-Marie & The Avalon Jazz Band Special Performance by the 2025 Artist-In-Residence Jason Moran (TBA) Chucho Valdés and Paquito D'Rivera Reunion Sextet Branford Marsalis Quartet Connie Han Trio Omar Sosa Quarteto Americanos Lakecia Benjamin Walter Smith III Quartet Special Performance by the 2025 Artist-In-Residence Jason Moran (TBA) The John Scofield Trio featuring Vicente Archer & Bill Stewart w/ Special Guest Nicholas Payton Kris Davis James Francies Trio 2025 Kresge Eminent Artist Award Winner: Marion Hayden Legacy Ensemble with Special Guest Kamau Kenyatta' The Detroit Jazz Festival will be held in downtown Detroit on Aug. 29-Sept. 1 (Labor Day weekend). For more information, visit Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Jazz Festival reveals 2025 lineup for Labor Day weekend
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Detroit Jazz Festival announces 2025 artist in residence: Details
Thursday morning, the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation announced pianist, composer and artist Jason Moran as the Artist in Residence for the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival, which will be held in downtown Detroit Aug. 29 - Sept. 1. The Artistic Director for Jazz at The Kennedy Center, Moran has racked up 18 solo releases on Blue Note and Yes Records and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022. 'I'm honored,' Moran shared with the Free Press. 'I've been to the festival many times over the years, and I'm always well aware that the Detroit Jazz Festival is one of the best in the world. It opens up the center of the city, by the water, by the border. On all that concrete, they bring all this music and they bring all these people together every year. 'I think about all the great musicians that come from the city, and what they mean to the history of the music that I cherish so much. The people that emerge from the city are raised by an incredible community of musicians and citizens. So it's an honor to be in this position and present a few concerts during the festival weekend.' Moran teased a few early projects he's tinkering with for the festival. More: Michigan is home to one of the nation's best music festivals. Where to catch the beat More: Legendary Alvin Ailey dance troupe returns to Detroit with world premiere performances 'I've spent the last year honoring Duke Ellington's 125th birthday. I rarely work with big bands, but this past year, I've been going around with different bands, bringing Ellington's music and kind of reshaping it. Ellington's music always needs another read-through, just like you would a novel or a poem; Ellington needs another read, another understanding of 'What does his music mean today?' So I proposed to do something with musicians from Detroit and nearby, a big Ellington concert, which is always a lot of fun. 'I love the city of Detroit so much, and also love the different Black music legacies that come from the city – techno is a big one. One thing I've not done is techno, and I would like to try something brand new in Detroit that also works with the Detroit techno legends in a duo setting, such as piano and machine.' Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation CEO and artistic director Chris Collins had high praise for Moran. 'I have carefully followed Jason's artistic career and his thoughtfulness about art, in his position at Kennedy Center and other ways – not just his raw artistry and the bands he's led and recorded with. He brings meaningful music and an extremely high degree of craftsmanship and creativity, and those are things we look for in our artists in residence, as well as someone that is a good communicator, who can be can serve as an ambassador for Detroit, for the festival, but also engage with other generations of musicians in our community in a way that lifts us all up. 'Jason fills all those bills. We've talked about things for a couple years, as I do with most artists in residence, and this just felt like the right year to bring Jason into our community in a more significant way.' As the 2025 Artist in Residence, Moran will support Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation educational initiatives for students and community engagement activities across the region throughout the year. In addition, Moran will lead multiple diverse performances during the Festival, Labor Day weekend. He will also perform at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center on the campus of Wayne State University, on Tuesday, April 15, during the Detroit Jazz Festival Preview Event. It will be live-streamed for free on Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Jazz Festival announces 2025 artist in residence: Details
