Events for Thursday, April 9 - Monday, April 27

For Lee Ritenour, there aren’t many ‘firsts’ left to achieve. A California native, Ritenour started on guitar at the age of eight. By sixteen, he was in the Los Angeles […]

Multi-faceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation's pivotal figures in music and the related arts. Downbeat observed that his "nimble touch, measured […]

Multi-faceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation's pivotal figures in music and the related arts. Downbeat observed that his "nimble touch, measured […]

Join teen poets from across the county. Celebrate the voices of the Youth Poet Laureate program, hear poems from the newly published Rising Voices Anthology, and meet the 2026-27 Santa […]

Known as “Hawai‘i’s Renaissance Man,” George Kahumoku Jr. is beloved for his soulful vocals, masterful slack key guitar playing, and warm storytelling rooted in Hawaiian tradition. Jim “Kimo” West—renowned both for his own […]

NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz has been one of the best purveyors of what he calls “informal composition” (as opposed to improvisation) on alto saxophone since the 1960s, working with […]

Jane Monheit is a jazz and adult contemporary vocalist with a deep passion for the Great American Songbook. With many highly acclaimed solo albums, countless awards and accolades, and over […]

Kuumbwa Jazz and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music present: A Change is Gonna Come featuring Palaver Strings and tenor Nicholas Phan in partnership with UC Santa Cruz Arts Division A […]

Poi Rogers is back at Kuumbwa Jazz Center to celebrate the release of their second album. Santa Cruz locals and national award winning musicians Carolyn Sills and Gerard Egan's unique […]

“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 […]