For its 22nd edition, NYC Winter Jazzfest (January 8\u201313, 2026) will reaffirm its commitment to nurturing community and free expression through live music. This year’s theme will center on the joy and beauty of gathering together while celebrating the tradition and future of Black American music\u2014especially urgent during a time when external forces threaten to erase Black culture and history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinter Jazzfest has always been more than a music festival\u2014it’s a nurturing community gathering, a platform for diverse voices, a space of joy and resilience,\u201d said the festival team. \u201cIn 2026, we double down on the power of music to resist erasure and amplify the voices at the heart of Black American music traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 festival will once again bring together voices spanning jazz, experimental, soul, electronic, and global traditions. Individual shows, venues, and dates for the Manhattan and Brooklyn Marathons are listed below.<\/p>\n
In keeping with its commitment to artist equity and sustainability, Winter Jazzfest will exclusively build and share its playlists on Qobuz. Qobuz is the Official Streaming Partner of 2026 NYC Winter Jazzfest.<\/p>\n
Capital Region Company is the Official Cannabis Partner of 2026 NYC Winter Jazzfest, featuring its brands Golden Garden and Revert.<\/p>\n
The lineup includes:<\/p>\n
JANUARY 8, 2026 \u2014 PSYCHIC HOTLINE AT NYC WINTER JAZZFEST<\/p>\n
Mei Semones & John Roseboro, Amy Gadiaga, Sam Gendel, Joe Westerlund, William Tyler & Yasmin Williams, Sylvan Esso (DJ set)
\nVenue: LPR
\nTime: 7:00 PM Doors<\/p>\n
Winter Jazzfest partners with Durham-based record label Psychic Hotline for a label showcase that expands the conversation around jazz and its many intersections. Founded by Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn with Martin Anderson, Psychic Hotline is an artist-run company built on radically artist-forward values: transparent deals, creative freedom, and an ever-growing community of voices. This showcase brings together adventurous music-makers across jazz, folk, and experimental traditions\u2014Mei Semones & John Roseboro, Amy Gadiaga, Sam Gendel, Joe Westerlund, William Tyler & Yasmin Williams\u2014plus a DJ set from Sylvan Esso. Winter Jazzfest has previously presented Psychic Hotline artists including Amaro Freitas, Sam Wilkes<\/a>, and Gendel. This year’s showcase extends a warm genre-agnostic welcome to a label that celebrates the festival\u2019s core values.<\/p>\n JANUARY 8, 2026 \u2014 NYC WINTER JAZZFEST AT NUBLU<\/p>\n Early: Brazil Music Club with Hamilton de Holanda, Fl\u00e1vio Silva, Jamile & Vinicius Gomes Late: William Parker<\/a> Pocket Watch Orchestra, Tomoki Sanders Early: Late: JANUARY 9, 2026 \u2014 WINTER JAZZFEST MANHATTAN MARATHON<\/p>\n Venues: LPR, City Winery, City Winery Loft, Nublu, DROM, The Bitter End, Zinc Bar, Close Up On January 9, 2026, Winter Jazzfest’s Manhattan Marathon will once again transform Lower Manhattan into a map of sound, with music spanning LPR, City Winery, City Winery Loft, Nublu, DROM, The Bitter End, and Zinc Bar. Audiences will be able to wander between venues and encounter different musical worlds.<\/p>\n MANHATTAN MARATHON:<\/p>\n Venue: LPR Venue: City Winery Venue: City Winery Loft Venue: DROM Venue: Zinc Bar Venue: Nublu Venue: The Bitter End (French Quarter) Venue: Close Up JANUARY 10, 2026 \u2014 WINTER JAZZFEST BROOKLYN MARATHON<\/p>\n Venues: Brooklyn Bowl, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Superior Ingredients, National Sawdust, Baby’s All Right, Union Pool, Loove Annex BROOKLYN MARATHON:<\/p>\n Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg Venue: Brooklyn Bowl Venue: Superior Ingredients Venue: National Sawdust Venue: Loove Annex (Fully Altered Showcase) Venue: Baby’s All Right Venue: Union Pool (Dada Strain Showcase) JANUARY 11, 2026 \u2014 GIANT STEP 35.5 YEARS CELEBRATION AT WINTER JAZZFEST<\/p>\n Gilles Peterson, Ron Trent, Kassa Overall, M\u00e1d\u00e9 Kuti, Carl Hancock Rux<\/a>, Nickodemus, Lovie JANUARY 11, 2026 \u2014 NYC WINTER JAZZFEST AT NUBLU<\/p>\n 7:00 PM Next Jazz Legacy JANUARY 12, 2026 \u2014 LPR: MY COUNTRY \u2019TIS OF THEE: FREEDOM RIDERS & GUESTS<\/p>\n Freedom Riders & Guests Arturo O’Farrill, Dee Dee Bridgewater<\/a>, Kurt Elling<\/a>, Samora Pinderhughes, M\u00e1d\u00e9 Kuti, Adegoke Steve Colson + more JANUARY 13, 2026 \u2014 GILLES PETERSON PRESENTS: LINER NOTES<\/p>\n with Gary Bartz<\/a>, Rob Galliano & Cleo Reed JANUARY 13, 2026 \u2014 TAKE TWO: DAVE HARRINGTON’S PRANKSTERS EAST REIMAGINE \u201cBITCHES BREW\u201d<\/p>\n Venue: LPR Lineup: JANUARY 13, 2026 \u2014 NYC WINTER JAZZFEST AT NUBLU<\/p>\n 8:00 PM Milena Casado JAZZ TALKS SCHEDULE<\/p>\n THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026<\/p>\n CREAM Rises: An Evening with Kassa Overall, in conversation with Dan Charnas<\/a> and Marcus J. Moore, followed by DJ set by Vijay Iyer SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2026<\/p>\n Making Art Amid Cultural Erasure: Yasmin Williams, Arturo o’Farrill, Immanuel Wilkins and gwen laster, moderated by angelika beener Honoring 60 years of AACM: Iqua Colson, Adegoke Steve Colson, Nicole Mitchell, Isaiah Collier, moderated by Chad Edward Taylor<\/a> SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2026<\/p>\n Listening in Transition: How Streaming Has Changed Listening: Matt Mitchell<\/a>, Amirtha Kidambi, Dan Mackta, moderated by David Ecker Artists of Witness and Resistance: Kahil El\u2019Zabar, Joy Guidry, Luke Stewart<\/a>, moderated by Katea Stitt Introducing Sphere: A Journal of Jazz in Motion: Giovanni Russonello, Danielle Amir Jackson, Hank Shteamer, moderated by Aidan Levy VISUALS & MESSAGING: STILL WE RISE<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s 2026 creative direction, led by Creative Director Maryam Shines, takes inspiration from Maya Angelou<\/a>\u2019s poem \u201cStill I Rise.\u201d The artwork created for this year’s festival is a visual anthem of resilience, power, and joy, drawing on the bold lines of political poster art, the brilliance of Afrofuturist visionaries, and the lush imagination of artists like Kerry James Marshall<\/a> and Mati Klarwein.<\/p>\n At its center, two hands rise\u2014cupped open, both offering and receiving\u2014embodying the spirit of jazz itself: the magic of cross-cultural and socio-economic exchange occurring across time, the embrace of tradition and the human urge to innovate new musical forms of expression. Flowers, especially roses, bloom throughout the imagery: as sound bursting from instruments, as threads binding musicians together, as offerings of joy in defiance of silence. (“Still I Rise” by Dr. Maya Angelou<\/a> is officially used here with permission of Caged Bird Legacy, LLC)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For its 22nd edition, NYC Winter Jazzfest (January 8\u201313, 2026) will reaffirm its commitment to nurturing community and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":498212,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-498211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115852223762404290","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTime: 6:30 PM Doors, 7:00 PM Show<\/p>\n
\nTime: 9:30 PM Doors, 10:00 PM Show<\/p>\n
\n6:30 PM Doors Open
\n7:00 PM Jamile & Vinicius Gomes
\n7:45 PM Fl\u00e1vio Silva
\n8:30 PM Hamilton de Holanda<\/p>\n
\n9:30 PM Advertised Doors
\n10:00 PM William Parker<\/a> Pocket Watch Orchestra
\n11:30 PM Tomoki Sanders<\/p>\n
\nTime: 5:00 PM \u2013 3:00 AM<\/p>\n
\n5:30 PM Doors
\n6:00 PM Nels Cline: songs from LOVERS conducted by Michael Leonhart<\/a>
\n7:15 PM Patricia Brennan Tentet
\n8:30 PM Takuya Kuroda
\n9:45 PM Lakecia Benjamin
\n11:00 PM Braxton Cook
\n12:15 AM Obed Calvaire: 150 Million Gold Francs
\n1:30 AM Fonville x Fribush ft Morgan Burrs w\/ Toribio<\/p>\n
\n5:00 PM Doors
\n6:30 PM James Carter<\/a> Quintet – Trane: A Centennial Supreme
\n7:45 PM Endea Owens<\/a> & The Cookout
\n9:00 PM Tyreek McDole
\n10:15 PM Lady Blackbird
\n11:30 PM Louis Cato<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:15 PM Civil Disobedience
\n7:30 PM Sarah Elizabeth Charles
\n8:45 PM Tia Fuller & Shamie Fuller-Royston
\n10:00 PM Veronica Swift<\/a>
\n11:15 PM Brandon Woody’s Upendo<\/p>\n
\n5:30 PM Doors
\n6:00 PM Arun Ramamurthy Trio
\n7:15 PM Amir ElSaffar<\/a> New Quartet
\n8:30 PM New Jazz Underground
\n9:45 PM Ekep Nkwelle
\n11:00 PM David Murray<\/a> Quartet
\n12:15 AM James Brandon<\/a> Lewis Trio<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:45 PM Mingus Dynasty
\n8:00 PM Gabrielle Cavassa
\n9:15 PM The Hemphill Stringtet
\n10:30 PM Laura Anglade
\n11:45 PM Lex Korten & Canopy
\n1:00 AM William Hill<\/a> Trio<\/p>\n
\n6:30 PM Doors
\n7:00 PM Alfredo Colon Sextet
\n8:15 PM Sam Gendel & Nate Mercereau
\n9:30 PM Merope with Shahzad Ismaily
\n10:45 PM Tomas Fujiwara<\/a>: Dream Up
\n12:00 AM Shahzad Ismaily, Maria Chavez and Greg Saunier
\n1:15 AM Hanging Hearts<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:30 PM AMG
\n7:30 PM Mario Canonge Trio
\n8:30 PM C\u00e9lia Kameni
\n9:30 PM GILDAA
\n10:30 PM The Getdown
\n11:30 PM Daoud<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:30 PM John H\u00e9bert
\n8:00 PM John H\u00e9bert
\n10:00 PM David Virelles
\n11:30 PM David Virelles<\/p>\n
\nTime: 5:00 PM \u2013 3:00 AM<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:45 PM Quantum Blues Quartet w\/ Tisziji Mu\u00f1oz, Will Calhoun<\/a>, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Paul Shaffer<\/a>
\n8:00 PM William Tyler & Yasmin Williams
\n9:15 PM Silk Road Ensemble
\n10:30 PM Mei Semones
\n11:45 PM Kahil ElZabar & Isaiah Collier<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:00 PM The Either\/Orchestra plays \u00e9thiopiques
\n7:15 PM Saha Gnawa
\n8:30 PM Annie & The Caldwells
\n9:45 PM M\u00e1d\u00e9 Kuti
\n11:00 PM Pedrito Martinez
\n12:15 AM Morgan Guerin with Billy Hart<\/p>\n
\n6:30 PM Doors
\n7:30 PM Sasha Berliner
\n8:45 PM David Binney Action Trio w\/ Louis Cole<\/a> & Pera Krstajic
\n10:00 PM Joel Ross
\n11:15 PM Luke Titus
\n12:30 AM Anthony Tidd’s Quite Sane<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:15 PM Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth SWAY
\n7:30 PM Samora & Elena Pinderhughes
\n8:45 PM Brandon Ross Phantom Station
\n10:00 PM Dawn of Midi
\n11:15 PM Marcus Gilmore<\/a>‘s Journey to the New<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:30 PM Ohad Talmor Back To The Land
\n7:45 PM Alden Hellmuth
\n9:00 PM Carmen Staaf<\/a> and Sounding Line
\n10:15 PM DoYeon Kim Quintet
\n11:30 PM Adam O’Farrill Elephant<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n7:00 PM Cole Pulice
\n8:15 PM LOJO Watts w\/ Logan Richardson, Jeff \u201cTain\u201d Watts, Joe Sanders
\n9:30 PM Luke Stewart<\/a> Silt Trio
\n10:45 PM Tomeka Reid Quartet
\n12:00 AM Instant Alter
\n1:15 AM Immanuel Wilkins<\/p>\n
\n6:00 PM Doors
\n6:30 PM Joy Guidry
\n7:45 PM Xenia Rubinos
\n9:00 PM Bex Burch
\n10:15 PM Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones<\/p>\n
\nVenue: Elsewhere
\nTime: 6:00 PM<\/p>\n
\n8:00 PM Ruly Herrera
\n9:00 PM MAE.SUN
\n10:00 PM Cochemea
\n11:00 PM Melvin Gibbs<\/p>\n
\nDoors: 7:00 PM
\nVenue: LPR<\/p>\n
\nAn Evening of Music, Stories and More presented by NYC Winter Jazzfest & Giant Step
\nVenue: Roulette<\/p>\n
\nCo-presented with Pique-nique<\/p>\n
\nDave Harrington – guitar
\nNels Cline – guitar
\nYuka Honda – keys\/electronics
\nShahzad Ismaily – percussion\/synth
\nAnna Abondolo – bass
\nKenny Wollesen – drums\/percussion
\nTcheser Holmes – drums
\nStuart Bogie<\/a> – bass clarinet\/keys
\nIlhan Ersahin – sax
\nAlfredo Col\u00f3n – sax\/ewi
\nPhil Weinrobe – live dub mix\/electronics<\/p>\n
\n9:00 PM BIG YUKI
\n10:00 PM M\u00e1d\u00e9 Kuti
\n11:00 PM Isaiah Collier<\/p>\n
\nTime: 6:00 PM \u2013 10:00 PM
\nACE HOTEL LOBBY: 252 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn<\/p>\n
\nTime: 12:00 PM
\n651 ARTS: 10 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn<\/p>\n
\nTime: 2:00 PM
\n651 ARTS: 10 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn<\/p>\n
\nTime: 12:00 PM
\n651 ARTS: 10 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn<\/p>\n
\nTime: 3:00 PM
\n651 ARTS: 10 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn<\/p>\n
\nTime: 5:00 PM
\n651 ARTS: 10 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn<\/p>\n