Events for May 2026

Kuumbwa Jazz Presents
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Sullivan Fortner Trio

“His fundamentals as a player could hardly be stronger, and his instincts as a composer and bandleader are almost startlingly mature.” - The New York Times For more than a decade, Sullivan Fortner has been stretching deep-rooted talents as a pianist, composer, bandleader, and uncompromising individualist. The GRAMMY Award-winning artist and recipient of the 2026 […]

Master Class: Dafnis Prieto – Drumming Beyond Patterns

Hailing from Cuba, the GRAMMY-winning and Latin GRAMMY-nominated drummer, composer, and MacArthur Fellow Dafnis Prieto’s revolutionary drumming techniques and compositions have had a powerful impact on the music landscape – nationally and internationally. A gifted educator, Prieto has conducted numerous master classes, clinics, and workshops around the world. He was on the jazz studies faculty […]

Dafnis Prieto – Sí o Sí Quartet

Hailing from Cuba, the GRAMMY-winning and Latin GRAMMY-nominated drummer, composer, and MacArthur Fellow Dafnis Prieto’s revolutionary drumming techniques and compositions have had a powerful impact on the music landscape – nationally and internationally. As a composer, Prieto has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands; ranging from duets […]

International Jazz Day: Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band

Join us to celebrate International Jazz Day with the Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band! Featuring Adler William Blackmun, Reuben Cave, Raymond Cavlan, Ryu Cirillo, Kyle McMillan, Max Sanderson & Xander Shulman, the ‘25/’26 Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band showcases some of the most talented high-school student musicians from Santa Cruz County and the Central Coast region. These […]

Scottish Fish

Scottish Fish present a fresh take on traditional and contemporary Scottish and Cape Breton music. After growing up steeped in the Boston Celtic music scene, these five young women began touring at an early age, quickly enchanting domestic and international audiences with their youthful enthusiasm, creative arrangements, and sensitive performances. Described as "both very traditional […]

Classical Guitarist Edith Pageaud

French guitarist Edith Pageaud is one of the most promising young musicians of this generation. With clarity, precision and emotional depth, she represents a new wave of classical guitarists who combine technical mastery with artistic curiosity. Alongside her teaching and concert work, she is active as an arranger, transcribing piano works by composers such as […]

Pat Metheny – Side Eye III+ at the Rio Theatre

Pat Metheny was born in Lee's Summit, MO on August 12, 1954 into a musical family. Starting on trumpet at the age of 8, Metheny switched to guitar at age 12. By the age of 15, he was working regularly with the best jazz musicians in Kansas City, receiving valuable on-the- bandstand experience at an […]

Gregorio Uribe

“Colombian artist Gregorio Uribe, whose blend of contemporary cumbia and timeless charisma has marked him as an artist to watch.” – Billboard Gregorio Uribe is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated Colombian singer-songwriter and accordionist. He graduated from Berklee College of Music and has performed his music at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and […]

Master Class: Gregorio Uribe – A Journey Through Colombian Music

Gregorio Uribe is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated Colombian singer-songwriter and accordionist. He graduated from Berklee College of Music and has performed his music at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the New Orleans Jazz Fest, among others. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Rubén Blades, Carlos Vives, and Paquito D’Rivera, […]

Lucía

Lucía is a 24-year-old vocalist from Veracruz, México whose singular artistic vision bridges the gaps between jazz, latin, and pop music. Lucía Gutierrez Rebolloso started her musical career at the age of 2, singing and dancing in her parents’ son jarocho band, Son de Madera. She began studying voice at the age of 13 at […]

Hiromi’s Sonicwonder – 7:00 PM

Spanning more than twenty years as a recording artist, the jazz piano phenomenon Hiromi has shifted seamlessly from one spellbinding project to the next. In the process, she’s earned a reputation as one of the most explosive live performers in jazz history and a global ambassador for the art form. Her many triumphs include an […]

Hiromi’s Sonicwonder – 9:00 PM

Spanning more than twenty years as a recording artist, the jazz piano phenomenon Hiromi has shifted seamlessly from one spellbinding project to the next. In the process, she’s earned a reputation as one of the most explosive live performers in jazz history and a global ambassador for the art form. Her many triumphs include an […]

Benny Benack III – The Magic of Manhattan

By age 31, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the post-bop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold; […]

World Class Music Live Presents: Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto

Senegalese kora master Ablaye Cissoko shares the stage in a mesmerizing collaboration with French accordionist and composer Cyrille Brotto. Together, they create an exotic, yet strikingly modern sound that melds the deep traditions of their very different musical cultures and showcases their unique artistry. Cissoko is one of his generation’s finest kora players – an […]

Caroline Davis – Portals Quartet

Caroline Davis is a Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer, and activist, whose work is driven by a desire for connection and a belief in music’s capacity to expand listeners’ ears, minds, and hearts. A 2025 Guggenheim Fellow in Composition, she is the recipient of the DownBeat ‘Critics Poll’ Alto Saxophone ‘Rising Star’ award, as well as fellowships […]

Bob Dylan’s Love Songs and A Pre-Wedding Celebration for Catie & Eric

If you have ever had your heart strings pulled by Bob Dylan's love songs, then you will love the set list featuring songs performed by a number of talented musicians: Anthony Ayra, Jim Lewin, Diana Z, Dan Frechette, Larry Graff, Pat Nevins and Jay Wilcox behind the rhythm section of Brett Bailey on drums and […]

Bobby McFerrin – Circlesongs

“You get people together and get them singing, and you instantly knock down all the walls – the creeds, the gender, age and race differences, everything. You’re all one at that point, lifting your voices…I love to knock down the wall between performer and audience, that is always my goal. I invite individuals on the […]

Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio

Kurt Rosenwinkel is a highly acclaimed and influential jazz guitarist, composer, and bandleader. Hailed as one of the most important jazz musicians of his generation, Rosenwinkel has spent decades pushing the boundaries of the jazz genre and developing a signature sound that has captivated audiences worldwide. With a career spanning over thirty years, Rosenwinkel has […]

Veronica Swift

“She has a miraculous voice, musical ability and technique, as well as an innate gift for entertaining a crowd.” — Wall Street Journal Veronica Swift has established herself as one of her generation’s iconic voices in jazz. She recorded her first album at age nine, and since then has had a career spanning two decades. […]

Peter Erskine Trio

Peter Erskine has played drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on seven hundred albums and film scores, has won two GRAMMY awards and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music. Fifty albums have been released […]

Frankie Moreno Trio

Six-time Las Vegas ‘Headliner of the Year’ Frankie Moreno returns to the town that shaped him, bringing his electrifying trio show back to where it all began – the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Moreno’s musical journey started here – before the awards, the charts, and the sold-out theaters. This town was […]

World Class Music Live Presents: Olas Perdidas

Olas Perdidas is an innovative new band that fuses the vibrant, rhythmic traditions of Son Jarocho from Veracruz, Mexico, with the cinematic, evocative sounds of spaghetti Western music. Blending the lively strums of the jarana and requinto jarocho with the haunting twang of guitars and dramatic flair of Ennio Morricone-inspired compositions, Olas Perdidas creates a unique […]

Sing Out for Pete’s Sake: A Singalong Concert

Join Jaeger & Reid (Judi Jaeger and Bob Reid), Aileen Vance, Emma’s Revolution (Pat Humphries and Sandy O) and special guests for a singalong concert featuring the music of Pete Seeger and other contemporary songwriters who evoke the same powerful feelings. Jaeger & Reid Website Aileen Vance Website Emma’s Revolution Website Katie Sontag Website info/tickets/questions: […]

Bennett Roth Trio – Tribute to Thelonious Monk

Bennett Roth is a jazz pianist, emcee, composer, and music educator. An accomplished bandleader and in-demand sideman and accompanist, he has performed on multiple occasions at San Jose Jazz Summerfest and Winterfest, SFJazz, and the Great American Music Hall to name a few. Roth’s latest album It'll Always Work Out features all new modern jazz […]

Emi Makabe Quartet feat. Vitor Gonçalves, Thomas Morgan & Kenny Wollesen

Making their West Coast debut, the Emi Makabe Quartet presents a visionary blend of Japanese folk, contemporary jazz, and global rhythms. Featuring an acclaimed lineup – Emi Makabe on vocals/shamisen, Thomas Morgan on bass, Vitor Gonçalves on piano/accordion, and Kenny Wollesen on drums – the quartet creates a dynamic, emotionally resonant sound centered on Makabe’s […]

Le Boeuf Brothers

Originally from Santa Cruz, California, identical twin brothers Remy Le Boeuf & Pascal Le Boeuf—saxophone & piano respectively—moved to New York in 2004 where they established their prominent musical voices as jazz performers and composers and founded Le Boeuf Brothers. They have won GRAMMYs (Pascal in 2025, Remy in 2026) for their innovative compositional projects, […]