Jazz News: Denver Jazz Fest 2026; The Paul JAS Center grand opening; A new round of Mellon Foundation grants support jazz and storytelling
The first few official shows of the 2026 second annual Denver Jazz Festival have been announced. The festival plans to welcome the community out to 40 different shows taking place at 15 venues across Denver, Boulder, & Lafayette, that's 6 days of live music from April 7 to the 12. Officially on the bill are Bob James, Unlimited Miles, the Orrin Evans Trio, the Fred Hersch Trio, Pat Metheny, and ELEW at Colorado venues like the Newman Center, Dazzle Denver, The Wolf Theater at the JCC, The Boulder Theater, and Classic Pianos. Stay connected with shows as they roll out at Denver Jazz Fest. Source: Denver Jazz Fest
Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) is set to open a new community hub inspiring creativity, collaboration, and celebration. The Paul JAS Center is Aspen’s new world-class music venue, officially opening above the historic Red Onion on December 19, 2025. This transformative space will serve a number of uses for our jazz community in the high country, becoming a year-round hub for concerts, education, and special events.
JAS continues its commitment to live jazz, blues, soul, gospel, New Orleans, and world music by welcoming both national and Colorado-based talent to the stage of its nightclub through its JAS Café series all while introducing an adjacent recording studio welcoming even more music creation onsite. Classrooms will provide a space for the creative exchange of ideas amongst aspiring musicians, and the new space also features over 6,000 sq. ft. of multi-use event space available for rent, and the intention of maintaining a robust community calendar of their own. JAS plans to host Artist Workshops & Discussions, Family Programming, Movie Nights, Games, and more, totalling up to 300+ days and nights of annual activity.
JAS Café's opening weekend will welcome Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue on December 20. Christian McBride and Benny Green take the stage with Niki Harris December 21-22. Details at Jazz Aspen Snowmass. Source: Jazz Aspen Snowmass.
The Mellon Foundation announced last week over $6.5M in grants dedicated to advancing jazz scholarship and storytelling nationwide as part of the Foundation's $35M commitment to preserving America's first original art form.
A $5.8M grant supports the Jazz Study Group (JSG) which is a collective of more than 30 scholars, artists, and musicians from the US and internationally that serve as an incubator for jazz biographies, oral histories, cultural criticism, and compositions. One example of the work is shared by Robert O’Meally, founder of the Jazz Study Group “With the Jazz Generations Initiative, co-led by composer Courtney Bryan and myself in partnership with the Mellon Foundation, we are creating a bridge between New York and New Orleans—a living network where artists and scholars can listen, learn, and carry forward the transformative stories and sounds of this music.”
An additional $1M is awarded to the work of the Chicago-based Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians as well as the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and The World Stage in Los Angeles, all community-based institutions uplifting and innovating the jazz art form. More at Mellon Foundation. Source: Mellon / Awards / Institutions Advancing Jazz & Storytelling
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