Detroit Jazz Festival Announces 2018 Lineup

  I  
Image

Pianist Chick Corea is the artist-in-residence for the 39th annual Detroit Jazz Festival.

(Photo: Toshi Sakurai/Chick Corea Prod.)

​The Detroit Jazz Festival on Wednesday announced its lineup for the 2018 installment of the event, which runs Aug. 31-Sept. 3.

The artist-in-residence for the 39th annual festival will be pianist Chick Corea, who will be playing in a variety of settings with the Akoustic Band, the Elektric Band and in a sextet alongside the Detroit Jazz Festival Symphony Orchestra. A new feature of the free festival this year is the Resident Ensemble, a group of musicians aiming to connect with the community through performance. Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist Esperanza Spalding, who are set for three performances, are members of this inaugural cohort. The late Geri Allen originally was set to participate, and in the wake of her death, the ensemble’s repertoire will focus on her work.

Below, find a list of performers; others will be added in the coming months. Visit​ The Detroit Jazz Festival homepage for more information. DB

Aug. 31

  • Dr. Valade’s Brass Band Led by New Orleans Legend Shannon Powell
  • Resident Ensemble: Terri Lyne Carrington and Esperanza Spalding—Tribute to Geri Allen
  • Artist-in-Residence: Chick Corea Akoustic Band

Sept. 1

  • Straight Ahead 25th Anniversary Reunion Featuring: Regina Carter, Marion Hayden, Gayelynn McKinney and Alina Morr
  • Julian Lage Trio
  • Dr. Lonnie Smith Organ Trio
  • Detroit Jazz Festival National Instrumental Competition Winner
  • Tia Fuller
  • Nicholas Payton—Afro-Caribbean Mixtape
  • Sasha Masakowski & Art Market
  • Emmet Cohen Trio
  • Trio of Oz featuring: Omar Hakim and Rachel Z
  • Artist-in-Residence: Chick Corea Elektric Band
  • Ravi Coltrane’s Universal Consciousness: Melodic Meditations of Alice Coltrane

Sept. 2

  • Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio
  • Harold López-Nussa with Grégoire Maret and Pedrito Martinez
  • Eddie Daniels Quartet with The Harlem String Quartet
  • Omar Sosa Quarteto AfroCubano
  • Karriem Riggins Detroit Generations
  • Hub-Tones: Freddie Hubbard 80th Birthday Celebration—Featuring: Nicholas Payton, Randy Brecker, David Weiss and Dwight Adams
  • Chris Dave and the Drumhedz
  • Resident Ensemble: Terri Lyne Carrington and Esperanza Spalding—Tribute to Geri Allen
  • ASABA Trio—Hirofumi Asaba
  • Senri Oe
  • J.C. Heard JazzWeek@Wayne All-Stars
  • Pat Martino Quintet
  • Marcus Miller

Sept. 3

  • Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones
  • Cécile McLorin Salvant
  • The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion
  • Resident Ensemble: Terri Lyne Carrington and Esperanza Spalding—Tribute to Geri Allen
  • Christian Sands Trio
  • Joey DeFrancesco: Project Freedom
  • Artist-in-Residence: Chick Corea with the Detroit Jazz Festival Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Steven Mercurio


  • Don_and_Maureen_Sickler_by_Richard_Halterman_copy_2.jpg

    Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.

  • Trio_aRT_courtesy_Trio_aRT_copy_3.jpg

    Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.

  • KurtElling_6.2.25_by_ElliotMandel-REV-6.jpg

    “Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.

  • Pat_Metheny_Side-Eye_III_Jimmy_Katz.jpg

    Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at ​Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.

  • Mark_Masters_and_Billy_Harper_photo_by_Susan_Miyamoto_copy_2.jpg

    Mark Masters, right, with Billy Harper.