Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
Hyde Park Jazz Fest on Chicago’s South Side to Present 20th Edition
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
Trombone Shorty draws a huge crowd at last year’s Rochester International Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Thom Bell/RIJF)In preparation for this year’s jazz festival season, DownBeat brings you a detailed preview of the best fests scheduled to take place in the months to come. Be sure to check for festivals happening in your area — be it East, West, South or Midwest regions of the U.S. and Canada, or International locations in Europe and beyond. And for all you jazz travelers and globe-trotters out there, there are dozens upon dozens of worldwide destinations worth exploring in our guide.
This feature ran in our May issue. You can view it as a magazine HERE or click on the cover of our 2026 Festival Guide below for a glimpse of 126 great festivals happening between now and the end of the year.
Happy festival-hopping! DB
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A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.
Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
“It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”
Sep 22, 2026 1:39 PM
Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.
Oct 6, 2026 1:33 PM
As emcee Mark Ruffin noted at the commencement of an epic tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins at the Cathedral of…
Record producer Bob Thiele’s classic photo that became the cover of John Coltrane’s landmark album A Love Supreme.
Sep 22, 2026 1:36 PM
A tribute to John Coltrane is one thing, but there is much more to the iconic saxophonist’s 100th anniversary…
Ravi Coltrane (right) makes a point during a live Blindfold Test at the Umbria Jazz Festival while pianist Greg Burk (far left), journalist Ashley Kahn and trumpeter Terence Blanchard listen.
Oct 20, 2026 12:53 PM
The pairing of Terence Blanchard and Ravi Coltrane was billed as “The Miles/Coltrane Legacy,” a tour celebrating…
