WELCOME TO CONTEMPORARY JAZZ FAN
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Also, in the upper right hand corner, you will find a drop-down menu. Websites listing some of the contemporary jazz musicians, live streams, obituaries, artificial intelligence, a fan's prospective and past grammys. If you would like to add someone to the website listing, please contact me at the drop-down menu. The artists websites will take you to their Facebook, X and Instagram sites. You can then find out more about their music and upcoming tours.
🏆🏆ANNOUNCING THE 2026 GRAMMYs🏆🏆
The 2026 GRAMMY Awards are officially returning to Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026!
✉️ The 2026 GRAMMY Awards nominations announcement will be revealed on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
Click below to view all key dates and deadlines related to the 2026 GRAMMYs ⬇
https://www.grammy.com/news/2026-grammys-new-categories-announced?utm_source=fan-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=grammys
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✨️KEYSTONE KORNER✨️
Baltimore, MD
Live and Streaming www.keystonekornerbaltimore.com
https://youtu.be/-EfYLovsLFY?si=skFq-zGZ-d4QCpCe
❤️🎸STANLEY CLARKE - August 23-24 (in person only)
NEA Jazz Master and four-time Grammy Award Winner Stanley Clarke has attained "living legend" status during his over 50-year career as a bass virtuoso. He is the first bassist in history who doubles on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity and the first jazz-fusion bassist ever to headline tours, selling out shows worldwide. A veteran of over 40 albums who's played with the likes of Horace Silver, Art Blakey and Stan Getz, he won the 2011 Best Contemporary Jazz Album Grammy Award for The Stanley Clarke Band. Clarke co-founded the seminal fusion group Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Lenny White. In 2012, Return to Forever won a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Forever.
https://youtu.be/4DCahFBMEB8?si=w3R84bKl2NvWYbN2
..a perfectly combustible electric-acoustic outfit whose smart, often challenging and unpredictable compositions draw from fusion, postbop and contemporary jazz.”
— Jazz Times
Russell Ferrante [Piano & Synthesizers]
Bob Mintzer [Woodwinds & EWI]
Will Kennedy [Drums]
Dane Alderson [Bass]
Throughout their storied 43-year history, the Yellowjackets have recorded 25 albums, received 17 Grammy® nominations – won 2 – performed countless sold-out tours, and enjoyed worldwide critical acclaim and commercial success. The Yellowjackets formed in the late 1970’s as the backup band for guitarist Robben Ford. Since then, and with the addition of Bob Mintzer, the Yellowjackets have gained and maintained prominence as one of jazz’s most influential and loved groups. The reason for the name Yellowjackets was it seemed to connotate something lively, energetic, and something with a “sting”.
https://youtu.be/iKq63G-aDKE?si=1v9Q2I81sR6Orho7
https://youtu.be/NosOcpSG2mQ?si=K3VxIoZpzhPAn2Jh
10 Grammy Awards | 10 Dove Awards | Gospel Music Hall of Famers | And more!
Take 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley), heralded by Quincy Jones as the “baddest vocal cats on the planet!,” is the quintessential a cappella group and the model for vocal genius.
✨️THE BIRCHMERE✨️
Alexandria, VA
www.birchmere.com
This is a great venue! (no streaming, in person only)
❤️Hiroshima - July 24
The group, led by Dan Kuramoto, continues to make their own East Meets West contemporary jazz. Departure, their 18th recording, is defined by its title. . . . Consistent quality, a distinct sound, and longevity = win. If I were creating a Contemporary Jazz Hall of Fame, Hiroshima would certainly be an early inductee. - Contemporary Jazz.com, John Hildebrand
🎷❤️ Dave Koz & Friends - July 31 - SOLD OUT
🎷❤️Vincent Ingala - August 3 - SOLD OUT
❤️JAZZ FUNK SOUL - August 15
Featuring, EVERETTE HARP🎷, JEFF LORBER🎹, PAUL JACKSON, JR.🎸 JUST RELEASED THEIR NEW ALBUM, SIMPATICO:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMGL2b8u_Rk/?igsh=MzM1eHlib3R0NDZ1
❤️🎷KIM WATERS - September 13
Dear Friends and fans, I am happy to announce the release of my 26th CD "Time 2 Groove", which was released on April 11, 2025. Be sure to get your copy.
Thanks,
Kim Waters
🎹❤️The Birchmere Presents BRIAN CULBERTSON
Day Trip Tour Thursday, October 23, 2025, 8pm
Warner Theatre, Washington, DC
Tickets through Ticketmaster
www.ticketmaster.com
✨️TIN PAN✨️
https://tinpanrva.com/
Richmond Virginia area, this is another great venue! Dinner and a show!
❤️🎹 DAVID BENOIT - July 24 (low tickets)
For four decades, the GRAMMY®-nominated pianist/composer/ arranger David Benoit has reigned supreme as one the founding fathers of Contemporary Jazz.
When he was coming up, Benoit worked with singers Patti Austin, Connie Stevens, Ann-Margaret, and Lainie Kazan as her musical director/conductor. In 1976, Benoit released albums on the AVI label from 1977 to 1984. He later released several chart-topping recordings for GRP, including Freedom at Midnight (1987), Waiting for Spring (1989) and Shadows (1991), which both topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Charts at #5, #1, and #2, respectively.
His other noteworthy recordings include Letter to Evan (1992), his tribute to another piano influence, Bill Evans, and Here’s to You, Charlie Brown: Fifty Great Years (2000). Benoit also recorded with Russ Freeman on their album The Benoit/Freeman Project (1994), and on their follow-up collaboration, 2 (2004), which was released on Peak Records. His other recordings for the label include American Landscape (1997) and Orchestral Stories (2005), which featured his first piano concerto, “The Centaur and the Sphinx,” and a symphonic work, “Kobe”.
He has received three GRAMMY® nominations in the categories of Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for “Every Step of the Way” (1989), Best Large Ensemble Performance for GRP All-Star Big Band (1996), and Best Instrumental Composition for “Dad’s Room,” the latter from the album Professional Dreamer (2000). He has also worked with an impressive potpourri of musicians including the Rippingtons, Emily Remler, the late Alphonse Mouzon, Dave Koz, Faith Hill, David Sanborn, CeCe Winans, Keiko Matsui, Hiroshima, and Brian McKnight.
David’s career as a contemporary jazz pianist began in 1977 and includes 41 solo recordings over the past 40 years. Many of these, including his 1987 GRP Records debut “Freedom at Midnight” and its Grammy nominated 1988 follow-up “Every Step Of The Way”, are considered influential classics in the genre. Among his other Grammy nominations are those for Best Instrumental Composition (for “Dad’s Room” and 1999’s Professional Dreamer), Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance (GRP All-Star Big Band) and voted “Keyboardist of the Year” in 2000 and 2001 by the Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards, and on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart. David’s latest release,Timeless (2024), is his first all big band recording featuring the London based Spice Fusion big band.
Benoit has also been a popular film and television composer. His most notable film scores are The Stars Fell on Henrietta, produced by Clint Eastwood and starring Robert Duvall; and The Christmas Tree, produced by Sally Field, voted Best Score of 1996 by Film Score Magazine; His association with Charles Schulz and the famed Peanuts realm led to over 10 years composing music for the Peanuts TV special on CBS. In addition, he has written themes for the long running soap opera All My Children (ABC) and Sisters (NBC) and scored the “Movies of the Week” Final Descent (with the late Robert Urich) and Cadillac Jack (Starring Clint Black). In collaboration with lyricist Mark Winkler, David completed his first Broadway musical, Something’s Got To Give about the life and times of Marilyn Monroe.
He has served as conductor with a wide range of symphonies including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, London Symphony, Nuremberg Symphony, Philippine Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, New World Symphony Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony “Pops” Orchestra and of course, theAsia America Symphony Orchestra, to name a few. Piano performances have included Claude Bolling’s Suite for Flute & Jazz Piano, Suite for Cello & Piano, Concerto for Guitar & Jazz Piano Trio with Angel Romero, guest soloist with Lalo Schifrin and his orchestra and as a tribute to Charles M. Schultz, performed the Peanuts Piano Concerto and the music of Vince Guaraldi in conjunction with his recording of Here’s To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years
A long-time guest educator with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, he received that organization’s Excellence in Music Award in 2001. His musical selections have been featured on The Weather Channel such as his version of Vince Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Fate to the Wind”. At the age of thirteen, Benoit studied privately with pianist Marya Cressy Wright and continued his training with Abraham Fraser, who was the pianist for famed conductor Arturo Toscanini. He also studied music theory and composition, and later studied orchestration with Donald Nelligan at El Camino Junior College and film scoring from Donald Ray at UCLA. He studied conducting from Heiichiro Ohyama, assistant conductor of the L.A. Philharmonic, and furthered his musical education with Jan Robertson, head of the conducting department at UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara symphony orchestra music director Jeffrey Schindler.
A career highlight of Benoit’s was the opportunity to conduct a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with The Asia America Symphony and a 200 piece chorus at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2008.
David Benoit currently hosts a morning radio show on KKJZ 88.1 FM, CA, and continually tours & records and is composer in residence at Montalvo Arts, the Music Director a & Conductor for the Asia America Symphony Association. David and wife Kei reside in Laguna Niguel, California.
https://youtu.be/7DgWMZ_rJ98?si=7OfN5r15ljt7Zuvn
❤️🎤 TAKE 6 - August 31
10 GrammyAwards |10 DoveAwards | Gospel Music Hall of Famers | And more!
Take6 (ClaudeMcKnight,MarkKibble,JoelKibble,DaveThomas,AlvinCheaandKhristian Dentley), heralded by Quincy Jones as the "baddest vocal cats on the planet!," is the quintessential a cappella group and the model for vocal genius.
❤️🎹 BRIAN SIMPSON - October 31
After graduating from Northern Illinois University, keyboardist and composer Brian Simpson relocated to Los Angeles where he was soon playing alongside musicians Gerald Albright and Norman Brown and eventually on a world tour with Janet Jackson.
In 1990 Simpson received a call from George Duke that led to a decade of touring and production work with the late jazz legend. It was his tenure with George that led to working with a variety of artists, from James Ingram and Anita Baker to Dave Koz and Wayman Tisdale.
The popularity of his music world wide has kept Mr. Simpson on a seemingly endless world tour which in 2019 included Japan, Australia, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Spain, United Kingdom, Portugal, and South Africa.
With writing and performing credits on R&B chart-topping albums and Smooth Jazz Airplay charts, it’s clear why Brian is the veteran Music Director of so many jazz events.
Brian is a recording artist with Shanachie Entertainment which released his eleventh CD entitled Soul Connection (2023).
https://youtu.be/nQHWUn7Z9dg?si=KkC-icT_U21btSdz
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❤️ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY
Tiny deck pop up deck concert, Monterey Bay. Very cool!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL4Mk-auMwe/?igsh=cDNyYW9vbmwwOTV6
❤️🎷DAVE KOZ SUMMER HORNS 2025
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMGHistpXj9/?igsh=MW1yMTF0Zm81OTA3dA==
https://youtu.be/w6Yna372rCM?si=8w5gycB2qrGwVjnz
❤️MARCUS ANDERSON
❤️🎹HERBIE HANCOCK
See and hear his beautiful, compassionate speech on Instagram as he accepts the prestigious International Polar Music prize in Stockholm May 27. He has been called a jazz scientist!
The Polar Music Prize is one of the most prestigious and unique music prizes in the world, crossing over musical boundaries and awarded to individuals, groups and institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements. Laureates from a wide range of countries, cultures and continents have received the Prize in Stockholm from the hand of His Majesty, King Carl XVI Gustaf. Besides Herbie Hancock the other winners are the incredible Queen with Brian Mays and Roger Taylor with an amazing performance by Adam Lambert (see below) and Barbara Hannigan, a very talented Canadian classic singer and conductor.
Herbie Hancock speech:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKKsrPyPBOW/?igsh=MWl5NGJtbDhwNHk0aQ==
Most of the program is here with an amazing performance by Adam Lambert with Who Wants to Live Forever representing another winner the original Queen and Freddie Mercury.
Polar Prize Program (not entirely):
https://www.youtube.com/live/kllTHjhREvo?si=7RLJpi2gEeW1rXFi
WOW Adam Lambert performances:
Who Wants to Live Forever:
https://youtu.be/C3JQ2lx1DBQ?si=j3wST8LtoPhDK8KX
Another One Bites the Dust:
https://youtu.be/fKBdz2Rs48I?si=5jDaWJvL3e2d-Gg9</h1>
❤️WOW "Peter Gunn" new rendition for Henry Mancini's 100th Birthday includes HERBIE HANCOCK on piano.
Quincy Jones, John Williams and Herbie Hancock record a rendition of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" in honor of the composer's 100th birthday.https://youtu.be/8dkwpHoDpXA?si=86DePqmz6AZQMu4S
❤️🎹BRIAN CULBERTSON "Over the past few years, I've been going back and listening more and more to music that inspired me as a young musician, artists like David Sanborn, The Brecker Bros, Chick Corea, Al Jarreau, Pat Metheny, and others in the jazz fusion world (before the term smooth jazz was created). It instantly brought me back to the days of 'no rules' and the pure joy of music, something that I think a lot of albums today are lacking.
With that said, I set out to write and produce a new album that would try to capture a little bit of that late 70's and early 80's spirit of music exploration, along with using only live musicians and real instruments (no computer sounds or quantized sequencing). Similar in style to Another Long Night Out, this is the daytime version!!
DAY TRIP TOUR SCHEDULE AND TICKETS:
www.brianculbertson.com
❤️🎹THE HANG
Support his long running show on YouTube Friday nights when not on tour. Please tip Brian for The Hang shows through CashApp, Venmo or PayPal or Join his Hang Club and hear him Monday and Wednesdays too!
July 18 - Summer Vacation
https://www.youtube.com/live/kllTHjhREvo?si=7RLJpi2gEeW1rXFi
July 11 - Summer Chill Out
https://www.youtube.com/live/UrBkqa-dT6o?si=T1OesBMjKXgeJy_8
4th of July Special💥https://www.youtube.com/live/IuIjsbizz5c?si=ms-zITP1MEprGxzR
June 27 - Summer Jams
https://www.youtube.com/live/WQor2fRhJbg?si=UPjpK4MCKDeDytJk
ON ILLINOIS FLOAT AT ROSE BOWL PARADE January 1, 2025🎶🎹❤️
Quite an honor for him to represent the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois👏👏
https://youtu.be/SsBRXhZyBzs?si=AdG1Cd-g6jzzGCFh
❤️🎷MICHAEL LINGTON
Message from Michael Lington:
Hi friends
I'm getting ready to head on the road with stops in Colorado, California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio and more.
I'm so excited to come play for you with my amazing band and of course play some of the music from my brand new album, On The Scene.
Take a look at the upcoming dates on michaellington.com
With love and appreciation
Michael
Recent video release Dreamy Night
https://youtu.be/kNJieBaYr1g?si=cUUC789aV-l6_H5u
Released February 28🎷On the Scene Message
https://youtube.com/shorts/7zBnr07qRE8?si=l0uZizEGQxaCdyjA
🎷On the Scene - Official Performance Video
https://youtu.be/X2f6806Cb80?si=xKqs2xmFeqtsHuyN
❤️🎷STAGE IT
Please support this long running show when not on tour on many Sundays. Pay what you can. Websites:
www.stageit.com/MichaelLington or www.michaellington.com
❤️🎸ADAM HAWLEY
Featuring❤️🎹 Judah Sealy (https://g.co/kgs/FVDs59D)
Also, your home for fresh new sounds, MBF Entertainment Records. Adam is excited to announce the expansion of his label MBF Entertainment https://www.mbfentertainment.com/
❤️🎤KAT HAWLEY
First Album Available Everywhere X-IX-VIII featuring Adam Hawley, Steve Cole, Greg Manning and Judah Sealy
Steam, Purchase Digital “X-IX-VIII,” featuring Billboard chart-toppers Adam Hawley, Steve Cole, Greg Manning and Judah Sealy, dropped on Friday, June 21; the single “Rather Be” goes for playlist added on Monday, June 24 serviced by Gorov Music Marketing.
LOS ANGELES, CA (21 JUNE 2024): Ready to capitalize on the opportunity to step into her own spotlight and make her own musical statement after years of flanking 16-time Billboard No. 1 hitmaker Adam Hawley, R&B-jazz singer-songwriter Kat Hawley released her debut album, “X-IX-VIII” on Friday (June 21). She wrote eight of the set’s ten songs with her guitarist husband, Adam, who produced the MBF Entertainment album. Of note and in memorial: "Lazy Afternoon” was recorded to memorialize the late Cecil Ramirez,❤️ a Bay Area pianist and friend of the Hawley’s. Greg Manning plays poignantly in place of Ramirez on this track.
For more information checkout her website at www.kathawley.com
❤️🎷DAVE KOZ & ❤️🎹BOB JAMES
THEY WERE TOGETHER ON TOUR
Order CD - JustUsAlbum.com
From Dave,
Thank you for all your amazing support. I hope you enjoy this new music Bob and I made that we're extremely proud of.
With much love and appreciation always…
Order the new album today!
Enhance your listening experience! Every CD purchase includes a limited-edition poster and a bonus track you can only hear on the CD.
BobJames.com | DaveKoz.com
❤️🎹 BOB JAMES with Granddaughter AVA
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFvjymiyHpR/?igsh=MWhlYmwxZGt6d2QzMg==
❤️🎷GERALD ALBRIGHT
www.geraldalbright.com
❤️🎸JONATHAN BUTLER
www.jonathanbutler.com
❤️🎷KIRK WHALUM
www.kirkwhalum.com
❤️🎷ANDREW NEU
Keep It Real a new single https://www.andrewneu.com/
❤️🎸PETER WHITE
His 17th album Light of Day was released in February 2025, veteran guitarist and contemporary jazz icon Peter White is celebrating a series of key personal and professional milestones. Having just turned 70, the British born artist says of the new collection, "I think this recording is one of the best I've ever made. I have as much enthusiasm and energy for music as I did in my twenties!" There are a lot of exciting twists and turns in the production throughout. Case in point, "Odyssey" features expansive arrangement, an excursion full of di erent moods, twists and turns, uncertainty and explosive excitement. Likewise, White gets the album o to a rollicking, rip-roaring start with the buoyant "Catalonia," whose spirit of high adventure echoes some of the guitarist's earlier epic tunes like "Ramon's Revenge" (from Good Day) and "Don Quixote's Final Quest" (from Smile). At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, White fulfills a career-long goal by having legendary saxophonist Ernie Watts join him on the soulful, sensually romantic ballad "Enchanted" and taps one of smooth jazz's most exciting young artists, saxophonist Vincent Ingala, to create a passionate duet with his guitar on the heartfelt ballad "I Love You Still." Also in this gentler vein is the lilting, graceful tune "Till I See You Again", White's tribute to one of the genre's most impactful and beloved artists, the late guitarist Nick Colionne. Over the course of his 35- year recording career, White has had four #1 Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums and seven #1 Smooth Jazz Airplay hits.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆GRAMMY AWARD WINNERS
February 2, 2025
🏆Jazz Instrumental Album
Remembrance
❤️Chick Corea, Béla Fleck award and Chick Corea's daughter
🏆Urban Contemporary Album
So Glad to Know You
❤️Avery Sunshine
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFl4lQRSWhK/?igsh=MW9wa3gxbm0wZ2xzMw==
❤️Grammy moment honoring the memory of Quincy Jones. Herbie Hancock and Cynthia Erivo:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFvXejMCmPu/?igsh=MTBtOXBjamk2dm01aw=
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
❤️PLEASE HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE IN YOUR HEART FOR JEFF LORBER.
HE AND HIS FAMILY HAVE LOST EVERYTHING, HOME AND STUDIO AT PACIFIC PALISADES, CA
He and his family are safe.
❤️🎹🎶JEFF LORBER RELEASED HIS NEW SINGLE, TEARDROPS IN THE RAIN (FOR SHELLEY) AND ALBUM - PLEASE SUPPORT THIS WONDERFUL SOOTHING NEW MUSIC. Purchase CD or through streaming services his new album ELEVATE.
https://www.lorber.com
❤️Message from Dave Koz on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEoQYSsJ5WW/?igsh=MWFpbzJqOHg3c2pzNg==
❤️PLUS The GRAMMY family is deeply saddened by the horrific and destructive wildfires that took place in our beloved Southern California – a place that many within our music community call home.As the devastation unfolds, the Recording Academy and MusiCares have launched theLos Angeles Fire Relief Effort to support music creators and professionals impacted by the crisis, making a pledge of $1 million to kick off the efforts.
Let's rally together and help those who create the soundtracks of our lives at a time when they need us most. Thousands of families continue to be evacuated and displaced with no home to return to, and your donation can make all the difference in providing solace and comfort to the Angelenos impacted by this devastating natural disaster.
DONATE: https://donor.musicares.org/page/lafirerelief
"The entire GRAMMY family is shocked and deeply saddened by the situation that is unfolding in Los Angeles. The music community is being so severely impacted but we will come together as an industry to support one another. Our organizations exist to serve music people because music is a powerful force for good in the world, and we hope the broader industry will now rally to this cause."
— Harvey Mason jr., Recording Academy CEO
"We expect the disaster relief efforts in Los Angeles to be extraordinary, if even just on the basis of how many music people have lost their homes in the last day. MusiCares is always committed to ensuring that music professionals are supported in times of crisis, and we ask for the larger community to donate for those in need at this dire time."
— Laura Segura, Executive Director of MusiCaresSupport For Those In Need
If you've been directly impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires, we want to help. Here are immediate resources for those in critical need.
MusiCares Assistance
For many in the music community, disasters like this can disrupt even the most basic needs. MusiCares is here to provide support. If you or someone you know in the music industry is affected by these wildfires, please reach out by emailing musicaresrelief@musicares.org or calling 1-800-687-4227.
Disaster Resources And Information Through LA County
For updated information about evacuations, road closures, emergency resources and free shelter through Airbnb, visit the 211LA website.
Find A Shelter
The Red Cross is operating emergency shelters throughout the greater Los Angeles area. To access a shelter, visit the Red Cross website.
Uber
Residents in Los Angeles County who've been ordered to vacate their homes can get a credit from Uber to get to an evacuation site. The $40 will only be valid for trips to an active shelter and by using the code WILDFIRE25.
Lyft
Lyft announced it will be offering $25 vouchers, valid for two trips, to 500 customers from now until midnight on Jan. 15. Use the code CAFIRERELIEF25 to get the promotion.
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