(JPCM) Featuring a stellar roster of the world's greatest jazz artists, the Stanford Jazz Festival 2025 celebrates the depth and diversity of the contemporary jazz scene, building on a half-century legacy of jazz preservation and innovation in the heart of Northern California.
With dozens of electrifying concerts on the Stanford University campus from June 22 through Aug. 1, the West Coast's second longest-running jazz festival showcases a multi-generational cast of state-of-the-art improvisers encompassing the tradition's veteran masters, buzziest modern jazz artists, and rising musicians making their mark. Concerts will be held at Dinkelspiel Auditorium and Campbell Recital Hall.
Kicking off the Stanford Jazz Festival 2025 is Berkeley saxophonist George Brooks, who has forged deep relationships with the world's greatest Hindustani and Carnatic classical musicians. He returns to the SJF on Sunday, June 22 for the 11th iteration of his Indian Jazz Journey showcase. The concert reprises his Indo-jazz collaboration with superstar vocalist Mahesh Kale, winner of India's coveted National Film Award as the Best Playback Singer.
The official Friday night (June 27) opening weekend of the festival brings New York piano maestro Fred Hersch to Dinkelspiel Auditorium. Hersch's supremely lyrical trio featuring bass master Drew Gress and New Orleans drum star Joe Dyson continues Stanford Jazz Festival's tradition of hosting the jazz scene's most celebrated working bands. The weekend continues with the quintet of New York trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, a widely influential bandleader, mentor and jazz chronicler known for his published interviews with fellow improvisers.
The American Songbook's essential role in jazz is embodied by guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli, who performs with his hard-swinging trio at Dinkelspiel on Saturday, July 12. His expansive take on the pop music canon effortlessly encompasses Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Joni Mitchell. Fresh off of celebrating her 50th birthday at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Israeli clarinet star Anat Cohen performs with Rio de Janeiro seven-string guitar virtuoso Marcello Gonçalves. A mainstay at the festival for the past decade, Anat Cohen concert signifies one of the many unique aspects of SJF where rare configurations of artists can only be experienced at the festival. Cohen has forged deep ties with Brazil's finest instrumentalists, and she revisits her partnership with Gonçalves at Dinkelspiel on Saturday, July 19.
The jazz scene's profusion of brilliant young vibraphonists can be traced directly to charismatic 30-year-old Joel Ross, a vaunted player, composer and bandleader who brings his blazing Good Vibes quartet to Dinkelspiel on Thursday, July 24. The combo features rising stars Kanoa Mendenhall on bass, Jeremy Dutton on drums, and Paul Cornish on piano. Recently signed to storied Blue Note Records, Cornish makes his Bay Area debut as a bandleader at Campbell Recital Hall on Sunday, July 27 with his trio featuring Oakland-reared drummer Savannah Harris (a founding member of Christian McBride's Ursa Major).
No vocalist on the contemporary jazz scene has done more to distill the spirit of gospel in an improvisational context than the lustrous Lizz Wright. Possessing a sumptuously warm alto, the Chicago-based vocalist makes her SJF debut on Saturday, July 26 at Dinkelspiel, drawing on songs for her critically acclaimed 2024 album, Shadow. Few players have deeper ties to Stanford Jazz Workshop than piano master Taylor Eigsti, who is fresh off his second GRAMMY Award win (for his 2024 album Plot Armor). Eigsti makes his annual festival appearance at Dinkelspiel on Thursday, July 31 with an all-star quartet featuring Kneebody tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel and drummer Nate Wood, and bassist Harish Raghavan.
Founded in 1972 by saxophonist, arranger, and educator Jim Nadel, the SJF runs in tandem with the Stanford Jazz Workshop, an intensive summer education program staffed with acclaimed musicians who are also many of the SJF's featured performers. The synergy between the Workshop and the SJF manifests at every concert, as all the students enrolled in a session receive complimentary tickets, bringing an infusion of youth to the venues.
Now under the direction of bassist/composer Cory Combs since 2024, the Festival continues to set a benchmark for presenting jazz's finest practitioners. Combs brings a wealth of experience to the organization, including his pivotal role as SFJAZZ's Director of Education (2007-2011), when he was part of the leadership team that designed, planned, and launched the $60 million SFJAZZ Center.
After six years as the founding director of outreach at the Nueva School in San Mateo, where he directed the K-12 music program and led the jazz ensemble, Combs took over as Executive Director of InterMusic SF (2016-2023), developing and curating six annual SF Music Day festivals at the San Francisco War Memorial. Under his direction, InterMusic SF provided more than $1 million in project grant funding for hundreds of professional musicians throughout the Bay Area, including numerous commissions, premieres, recordings, and performances. During the first years of the pandemic, he administered a relief fund along with Theater Bay Area and Dancers Group that provided over $500,000 in aid to out-of-work arts workers.
"Being part of the Stanford Jazz Festival means curating more than just concerts -- it's about cultivating moments where artistry, education, and community intersect," says Cory Combs, Executive Director, Stanford Jazz Workshop. "This year's festival lineup captures the incredible breadth of the jazz tradition, and I'm continually inspired by how these artists bridge generations and styles, reminding us why jazz remains such a vital and evolving art form."
Stanford Jazz Festival 2025 -- Artist Lineup:
Fred Hersch Trio, Jeremy Pelt Quintet, John Pizzarelli, Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves, Lizz Wright, Joel Ross: Good Vibes, Taylor Eigsti Quartet featuring Ben Wendel, John Santos Quintet with Special Guest Yilian Canizares, Sam Reider presents Spaghetti ft. Jim Campilongo, Scott Amendola & Mat Muntz, Indian Jazz Journey featuring Mahesh Kale and George Brooks, An Evening with Victor Lin: Music of Studio Ghibli, Tiffany Austin presents Sassy: 100 Years of Sarah Vaughan, Paul Cornish Trio, George Cables and Friends Dayna Stephens, Tammy L. Hall, Jaz Sawyer: Tribute to Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Ken Peplowski: The Unheard Bird, Noah Garabedian Quintet featuring Valerie Troutt, Dena DeRose Trio, Ruth Davies' Blues Night with Chris Cain, Caili O'Doherty: Suite for Gearoidin, Luther Allison Sextet, Early Bird Jazz for Kids with Dr. Dave Hart & the Zookeepers, Rising Stars: The SJW Mentor Fellows, and SJW All-Star Jam!
Stanford Jazz Festival (June 22 - August 1, 2025)
Sunday, June 22, 2025 -- Indian Jazz Journey featuring Mahesh Kale and George Brooks -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Friday, June 27, 2025 -- Fred Hersch Trio -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Saturday, June 28, 2025 -- Jeremy Pelt Quintet -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Sunday, June 29, 2025 -- Tiffany Austin presents Sassy: 100 Years of Sarah Vaughan -- Campbell Recital Hall
Sunday, July 06, 2025 -- Ken Peplowski: The Unheard Bird -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Friday, July 11, 2025 -- Jaz Sawyer: Tribute to Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers -- Campbell Recital Hall
Saturday, July 12, 2025 -- Early Bird Jazz for Kids with Dr. Dave Hart & the Zookeepers -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Saturday, July 12, 2025 -- John Pizzarelli -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Sunday, July 13, 2025 -- Sam Reider w/ Spaghetti ft. Jim Campilongo, Scott Amendola, Mat Muntz -- Campbell Recital Hall
Monday, July 14, 2025 -- Caili O'Doherty: Suite for Gearoidin -- Campbell Recital Hall
Tuesday, July 15, 2025 -- Luther Allison Sextet -- Campbell Recital Hall
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 -- Ruth Davies' Blues Night with Chris Cain -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Thursday, July 17, 2025 -- An Evening with Victor Lin: Music of Studio Ghibli -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Saturday, July 19, 2025 -- Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Sunday, July 20, 2025 -- John Santos Quintet with Special Guest Yilian Ca-izares -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Monday, July 21, 2025 -- Rising Stars: The SJW Mentor Fellows -- Campbell Recital Hall
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 -- Noah Garabedian Quintet featuring Valerie Troutt -- Campbell Recital Hall
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 -- Tammy L. Hall -- Campbell Recital Hall
Thursday, July 24, 2025 -- Joel Ross: Good Vibes -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Saturday, July 26, 2025 -- Lizz Wright -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Sunday, July 27, 2025 -- Paul Cornish Trio -- Campbell Recital Hall
Monday, July 28, 2025 -- Dena DeRose Trio -- Campbell Recital Hall
Tuesday, July 29, 2025 -- George Cables and Friends -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 -- Dayna Stephens -- Campbell Recital Hall
Thursday, July 31, 2025 -- Taylor Eigsti Quartet featuring Ben Wendel -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Friday, August 1, 2025 -- SJW All-Star Jam -- Dinkelspiel Auditorium
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