San Jose Jazz

06/09/2026

Don't sleep on our Summer Fest hotel deals 🏨

The San Jose Marriott — our Official Hotel Partner — is already sold out on full weekend stays. Remaining partner hotels start at just $149/night, and they won't last.

Staying steps from the grounds means strolling in as the first acts hit the stage, moving between outdoor stages and air-conditioned indoor venues all day, and when the music winds down, Club Crawl venues keep the night going. When you're ready to call it, your bed is right there. No parking, no long drive.

Book now before they're gone: https://book.passkey.com/e/51222911

📸 Courtesy of Signia by Hilton San Jose

06/08/2026

¡Wepa! Salsa Fest on June 12 features one of the Bay Area's most celebrated DJs — DJ Leydis. 🎧🇨🇺

A pioneer of Cuban hip-hop who helped build the movement from the ground up, DJ Leydis created the first all-female DJ mix in Cuba before making the Bay Area her home in 2006. Since then she has opened stages for Erykah Badu, Questlove and Mos Def, served as official DJ for Grammy Award-nominated Los Rakas, and had the honor of representing Cuba at President Obama's Hispanic Heritage Month reception at the White House.

Join us for a full evening of Puerto Rican culture with live music, dance instruction, food and drink and vendors at Parque de los Pobladores, Friday June 12, 5–10pm. 🇵🇷

FREE with registration at bit.ly/26WEPA 🎟️

Brought to you by MACLA & San Jose Jazz with support from San José District 1 Councilmember Rosemary Kamei and CityDance (San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs).

06/08/2026

Meet Christian Manzana — trombonist, keyboardist, composer, educator and first-year road racer who caught the cycling bug in 2020. 🎺🚴

A Filipino American musician based in Oakland, Christian holds degrees from San Jose State and Cal State East Bay and has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Malasimbo Music Festival, Yoshi's and SFJAZZ. His collaborators read like a dream list: Aretha Franklin, Jon Faddis, Tower of Power and current Tiny Desk Contest winner Ruby Ibarra. You may also know him from the wildly popular Super Soul Bros, or from his solo recordings as "Monz."

With over a decade in music education — including a role as jazz trombone instructor at Chabot College since 2018 — Christian brings serious classroom experience to the Summer Jazz Camp faculty alongside his considerable chops.

Camp's June 15 start date is right around the corner — register now at sanjosejazz.org/camp 🎶

06/08/2026

¡Wepa! Salsa Fest on June 12 is bringing the classics — and Jeri y El Kombo Klasiko are keeping the flame alive. 🎺🥁

Puerto Rico-born percussionist Jeri Quiñones has been a fixture in Bay Area salsa since 1990. His band is devoted to the golden era of Puerto Rican and New York salsa from the 70s and 80s — honoring the legacy of legends like Ismael Rivera, Ray Barretto and Justo Betancourt for dancers who grew up on this music and a new generation discovering it for the first time.

Join us for a full evening of Puerto Rican culture with live music, dance instruction, food and drink and vendors at Parque de los Pobladores, Friday June 12, 5–10pm. 🇵🇷

FREE with registration at bit.ly/26WEPA 🎟️

Brought to you by MACLA & San Jose Jazz with support from San José District 1 Councilmember Rosemary Kamei and CityDance (San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs)

06/07/2026

Meet Carl Schultz — saxophonist, woodwind specialist, composer, educator and die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan. 🎷🦅

Director of Jazz Studies at Santa Clara University, Carl is equally at home in historical and contemporary styles. As a touring member of The Glenn Miller Orchestra he logged nearly 1,000 performances and appeared on The Glenn Miller Orchestra: Live in Tokyo. His modern jazz work includes appearances with Brad Goode's Polytonal Big Band and Norman David and the Eleventet, and his most recent recording The Road to Trantor on Origin Records is an avant-fusion suite inspired by the works of Isaac Asimov — which tells you everything you need to know about his range.

A former director of SJZ Summer Jazz Camp, Carl returns to the faculty with a wealth of experience and a passion for the music that is impossible to miss.

Camp starts June 15 — don't miss your chance to register at sanjosejazz.org/camp 🎶

06/07/2026

America's hottest new organ trio just keeps getting hotter 🎹🎸🥁

Parlor Greens dropped their sophomore album "Emeralds" on Colemine Records in April, and The Fire Note says it all: "a locked-in trio sharpening their sound, where every groove lands exactly where it should."

Fresh off Jazz Fest in New Orleans and a European tour, they bring their funk, soul and jazz to Summer Fest on Saturday, August 8. Catch them on the Main Stage or up close at the SJZ Break Room Stage with an All Stages ticket. bit.ly/SJZ26TIX
📸 Whitney Pelfrey

Jazz, soul, funk, Latin energy and pure showmanship—San Jose Jazz Summer Fest is back with a lineup packed with jazz and R&B legends alongside the...

06/06/2026

Meet Armen Krakirian — trumpeter, educator, electronic music enthusiast, gamer and self-described aspiring swole human. 🎺💪

A 2023 graduate of Oberlin Conservatory's Jazz Trumpet Performance program, Armen studied under the legendary Dr. Eddie Henderson and has since shared the stage with Gerald Cannon, Gary Bartz, Billy Hart and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Drawing inspiration from hard bop legends like Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, his sound stretches across electronic, hip-hop, pop and classical — a range that makes him as compelling in the classroom as on the bandstand.

Armen has taught at Stanford Jazz Workshop and Jazz Camp West, and is a 2026 SJZ Jazz Aid Fund awardee. We're thrilled to welcome him back to the Summer Jazz Camp faculty.

Camp starts June 15 — spots are filling fast. Register now at sanjosejazz.org/camp 🎶

06/06/2026

¡Wepa! Salsa Fest on June 12 is bringing the heat — and Los Calderones are turning it up. 🎺🥁

Brothers Obrayan and Dayron Calderon were raised in a deeply musical family and trained at Cuba's National School of Arts. Their band blends Cuban traditions — salsa, son and rumba — with modern funk influences into a fresh, high-energy sound that is redefining Afro-Cuban music for a new generation.

Join us for a full evening of Puerto Rican culture with live music, dance instruction, food and drink and vendors at Parque de los Pobladores, Friday June 12, 5–10pm. 🇵🇷
FREE with registration at bit.ly/26WEPA 🎟️

Brought to you by MACLA & San Jose Jazz with support from San José District 1 Councilmember Rosemary Kamei and CityDance (San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs)

06/06/2026

¡Wepa! 🎺🥁

Wepa is Puerto Rican slang for “pure joy and celebration.” And that's exactly what's coming to downtown San José on Friday, June 12.

Headlining this year's ¡Wepa! Salsa Fest on June 12 is Orquesta Bembé — the SF salsa sensation co-founded by Grammy Award-winning percussionist Christian Pepin. This 10-piece powerhouse blends salsa, timba, Latin jazz and traditional Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms into one of the most electrifying live shows in the Bay Area.
Join us for a full evening of Puerto Rican culture with live music, dance instruction, food and drink and vendors at Parque de los Pobladores from 5–10pm. 🇵🇷
FREE with registration at bit.ly/26WEPA 🎟️

Brought to you by MACLA & San Jose Jazz with support from San José District 1 Councilmember Rosemary Kamei and CityDance ().

06/05/2026

Lakecia Benjamin's highly anticipated new album We Dream drops today 🎷🎶

The five-time Grammy Award nominee — a first-call saxophonist for Gregory Porter, Anita Baker and Robert Glasper — delivers a cinematic, groove-driven project featuring Terence Blanchard, Hiromi, Bilal, Jeff "Tain" Watts and more.

Stream it now: https://album.link/us/i/1883698541

And catch her live at Summer Fest on the Jay Paul Company Main Stage, Sunday, August 9. Tickets at bit.ly/SJZ26TIX