New York City and All That Jazz!

It’s January in New York City and all that jazz. Literally, NYC is the place to be for everything Jazz this month. The City plays host to Winter JazzFest, the Jazz Congress, and the Unity Jazz Festival. These events along with musical showcases around town from the world’s largest performing arts conference (APAP) will keep the city sizzling well into the late night hours.  We’ve highlighted some of these Jazz happenings to help you navigate the many events and enable you to more easily bop around town.

The grand daddy of all the NYC January Jazz events, Winter Jazzfest (WJF) is the annual New York home to the exciting and forward-thinking contemporary jazz music being made today. This year’s festival will take place from January 9 thru 15 at venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn, featuring over 700 artists and more than 170 groups. For the schedule and tickets visit: Shows — Winter Jazzfest

Since its founding in 2005, WJF has cemented a reputation as a hotbed of cultural discovery, presenting new and exciting sounds and scenes throughout New York. Each year, the festival attracts a unique, deeply engaged, discerning audience comprised of a diverse range of cultural enthusiasts and music fans from across North America and from over 20 countries. The festival also plays host to attendees of the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference (APAP), who attend Winter Jazzfest in order to discover new talents.

Currently organized by Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Congress features a series of workshops, panels and networking opportunities, all geared to expanding the audience for jazz.  Attendees include presenters, artists, managers, agents, journalists, radio programmers and other jazz professionals.

The conference will take place January 8-9, 2025 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, which is located at Broadway and 60th Street in New York City. For the schedule of panels and panelists visit: https://jazzcongress.org/schedule.

A highlight of the 2 day Congress is The 2024 Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award which will be given to Grammy Award-winning bassist, educator, conductor, producer, arranger and composer John Clayton. His professional career began at age 19 when he worked on a television series produced by composer Henry Mancini. Clayton has been a member of some of the most seminal big bands in jazz history, including the Count Basie Orchestra, as well as notable groups led by Monty Alexander and Diana Krall. The award will be presented to Mr. Clayton by his son, the award-winning pianist Gerald Clayton.

Following a successful debut in 2024, The Unity Jazz Festival makes its highly anticipated return to Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 10-11, 2025. The Festival will electrify the House of Swing for two full evenings of live music from a diverse roster of over 20 acclaimed acts. Rachael & Vilray headline the two-day Festival which  kicks off at 6:00 p.m. each night, continuing through the evening, featuring an intergenerational and multicultural talent lineup of emerging artists and cherished legends of the music. The dynamic performances will take place on Frederick P. Rose Hall’s various stages – in the Ertegun Atrium, Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Studio, Dizzy’s Club, and the Appel Room. For tickets and more information, visit : jazz.org/unity. For livestreaming information, visit jazzlive.com.

Yes my friends, January in New York City is a musical winter wonderland of jazz in all forms. The city will be bopping with Winter Jazz Festival, the Jazz Congress and the Unity Jazz Festival. There are a myriad of ways to get inspired, enlightened, stimulated and joyful with the hundreds of events, shows, and panel discussions slated to happen around town. I am already Socially Sparked!