Events for August 2026

Kuumbwa Jazz Presents
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Ray Obiedo’s Latin Jazz Ensemble feat. Pete Escovedo

Contemporary jazz guitarist and composer Ray Obiedo had an eclectic music upbringing during his younger days in the San Francisco Bay Area. The sounds of Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Henry Mancini, Mortown Records, and perhaps most of all, James Brown, all influenced his musical persona and career trajectory. His early break was joining Johnny […]

Yilian Cañizares

“Yilian is one of the most incredible talents of the new generation of Cuban musicians. She is a virtuoso, she is expressive, spontaneous and with a grace that makes her the favorite of all of us.” – Chucho Valdés Yilian Cañizares is one of the most intriguing contemporary violinists, singers, and composers. Always staying true […]

Peter Asher & Jeremy Clyde

Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon and Jeremy Clyde of Chad & Jeremy join forces for the first time in several years for an intimate, living room style conversation and concert experience. It’s an unforgettable evening of music and memories featuring songs and stories moving from their sixties heyday as recording artists to Jeremy’s success […]

Maria Muldaur & Her Jazzabelle Quintet

Maria Muldaur is known worldwide for her 1974 hit “Midnight at the Oasis” which received several GRAMMY nominations and critical acclaim. Muldaur has toured worldwide and has recorded forty-three solo albums, spanning American roots music, gospel, R&B, jazz, and big band. Mulduar has recorded and produced, on average, one album per year throughout her career. […]

Eilen Jewell

Hailed by American Songwriter as “one of America’s most intriguing, creative, and idiosyncratic voices,” Eilen Jewell rises from the ashes on her captivating new album, Get Behind The Wheel, picking up the pieces of her shattered world and finding new purpose and meaning after watching her marriage, her band,and what felt like her entire career fall apart […]

Kim Nalley

Vocalist Dr. Kim Nalley has been heralded as “legendary” and a “San Francisco institution.” With an international reputation as one of world’s best jazz and blues vocalists, she has graced concert halls from Moscow to New York’s Lincoln Center. A true renaissance woman, Dr. Nalley has also been a featured writer for JazzWest and San […]

Sylvia Cuenca’s Bridging Generations feat. Wallace Roney Jr., Rico Jones, David Kikoski & Essiet Okon Essiet

Sylvia Cuenca is an acclaimed drummer on the New York and San Francisco Bay Area jazz scenes, who has collaborated with a wide variety of artists, from Joe Henderson to Clark Terry.  Sylvia Cuenca’s Bridging Generations feat. Wallace Roney Jr., Rico Jones, David Kikoski & Essiet Okon Essiet brings together an ensemble of inter-generational powerhouse […]

Bria Skonberg

Bria Skonberg is a Juno-award winning artist, 10x DownBeat ‘Rising Star,’ Jazz at Lincoln CenterSwing! Awardee, and the 2022 recipient of the Legend Award by the Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook. The trumpeter, vocalist, and composer has been called the "shining hope of hot jazz" (The New York Times) and is […]

Master Class: Gaw Vang Williams – Dynamics & Tone for Vocal Storytelling

Gaw Vang Williams is a vocalist and educator from Sacramento, California. She became the director of the vocal jazz program at Sacramento State University in 2014, where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and Master of Music in Voice Performance. She began teaching in 2004, serving as a music instructor at various […]

(((folkYEAH!))) Presents: Angelo De Augustine

Angelo De Augustine returns with Angel in Plainclothes, his fifth album and most inspired work yet—a deeply felt rendering of his multi-year journey of healing and renewal. The record showcases De Augustine's powerful melodies and poignant lyrics across tracks like the haunting elegy "Empty Shell," the hopeful "Spirit of the Unknown," and standout psychedelic country […]

Marina Crouse – Canto de Mi Corazón

Marina Crouse is one of the most notable talents on the San Francisco/Bay Area music scene. Her early classical training is reflected in her powerful and versatile vocal style that creates genuine excitement and emotion in every performance. Bestowed with a deeply expressive voice, Crouse applies her distinctive talents to a wide range of material […]

Death & Saxes + Full Court Press

Death & Saxes is Santa Cruz's premier straight-ahead jazz quartet. Founded by saxophonist John Bouwsma, a Santa Cruz native and Kuumbwa education program alum, Death & Saxes interprets standards and classic jazz compositions as well as original songs and arrangements. Behind Bouwsma's tenor is a rhythm section of Alameda's own Harrison Brand on guitar, as […]

Jazz Mafia – 25th Anniversary Retrospective

Led by Jazz Mafia co-founders Adam Theis and Eric Garland, this special concert celebrates more than twenty five years of the collective’s futuristic jazz roots. The program revisits the music that shaped Jazz Mafia’s identity in its earliest days, drawing from the first five years of the project’s evolution from 2000 to 2005. Featuring material […]

Bill O’Connell Trio feat. Lincoln Goines & Jon Krosnick

August Piano Bundle! Purchase a ticket to both the Bill O’Connell Trio (8/19) and the Jon Dryden Quartet (8/20) and receive 25% off – discount will be implemented at checkout. ––– The piano-led Bill O’Connell Trio on this concert date features three acclaimed and lyrical instrumentalists. Pianist Bill O’Connell has been called “nothing short of a […]

Jon Dryden Quartet with Special Guest Sami Stevens

August Piano Bundle! Purchase a ticket to both the Bill O’Connell Trio (8/19) and the Jon Dryden Quartet (8/20) and receive 25% off – discount will be implemented at checkout. ––– Jon Dryden is a pianist, keyboardist, and composer currently residing in Northern California. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music and moved to […]

Frankie Moreno Trio – Album Release Party

Back by Popular Demand… Six-time Las Vegas Headliner of the Year Frankie Moreno returns to Santa Cruz following his sold-out homecoming performance in May, bringing his electrifying TRIO show back to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Frankie’s musical journey began here - long before the awards, chart-topping hits, and sold-out […]

An Evening of Music, Hope & Insight with Bruce Lipton, Lauren Monroe, Rick Allen & Friends

A unique and inspiring evening bringing together cutting-edge science, personal transformation, and the healing power of music.  Featuring bestselling author and renowned cell biologist Bruce Lipton, PhD, musician and healing arts educator, Lauren Monroe, legendary Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, and an all-star ensemble including Joshua Ray Gooch, Carey Frank, Rachel Mazer, Dylan Rose, and […]

Keyon Harrold – Foreverland

“Keyon Harrold is the future of the trumpet” – Wynton Marsalis Keyon Harrold is an award-winning trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Harrold first came into the international spotlight for his critically acclaimed album, The Mugician, and his work as the trumpet voice behind the GRAMMY winning Don Cheadle film Miles Ahead. As a bandleader, he […]

Simon Phillips & Protocol 6

Jazz. Rock. Jazz-rock. Across more than four decades, legendary drummer Simon Phillips has shown an uncanny ability to excel in most any musical environment. Precision, intensity, and emotion are hallmarks of Phillips’ sound in every setting. Working with many of the world’s most prominent musicians from an early age, he has repeatedly made his mark […]