31st Annual Michigan Jazz Festival
The Michigan Jazz Festival features more than 200 musicians who hail from throughout the state of Michigan. The 34 performances, selected from among more than 130 applicants , include annual crowd favorites and 11 first-timers appearing on six stages — with an additional stage of student performers and the informative Jazz Talks! room. Admission, as always, is free.
New this year is the festival’s Educator in Residence. The inaugural educator, University of Michigan professor Andrew Bishop, has a busy scheduled residency:
- 10:00 a.m. - Improvisation clinic
- 11:00 a.m. - Rehearsal with All-Star H.S. Jazz Band
- Noon - Performance with the Ariel Kasler Quintet
- 2:00 p.m. - Performance with MJF All-Star H.S. Jazz Band
- 4:00 p.m. - Guest clinician: Playing with the Pros
- 7:45 p.m. - Guest performance: Jeff Trudell Jazz Orchestra
The 2026 Michigan Jazz Festival takes place Sunday, July 19, noon to 9:15 p.m. Schoolcraft College is located on Haggerty Rd. between Six and Seven Mile Rd. See the Festival website for more information.
| NANCY SALDEN | MEYER P. LEVEN FOUNDATION | ||||
| Big Band Stage | Open Air Stage | ||||
| 12:15 | Paul Keller Orchestra | 12:00 | Alonso Umaña Quartet | ||
| 2:00 | MJF All-Star H.S. Jazz Band | 1:30 | Hughes Smith Quintet | ||
| 3:45 | Seulah Noh Jazz Orchestra | 3:15 | Orquesta RITMO Project | ||
| 5:30 | CSO | 4:45 | Mr. B and the Sharp Nine | ||
| 7:30 | Jeff Trudell Jazz Orchestra | 6:15 | Andrew Rathbun Quartet | ||
| 7:45 | Aguankó | ||||
| BILL BOLLE | Detroit Federation of Musicians | ||||
| Presentation Stage | Rathskeller Stage | ||||
| 12:30 | Dave Kosmyna’s New Orleans Feetwarmers | 12:00 | Ariel Kasler Quintet | ||
| 2:00 | Olivia Van Goor Quartet | 1:30 | Yuriana Sobrino Quartet | ||
| 3:30 | Pat Prouty and the Detroit Office of Civil Defense | 3:00 | P.O.R.K. (Phil Ogilvie’s Rhythm Kings) | ||
| 5:15 | Terry Lower Trio with vocalist Eyde Evans Hyde |
4:30 | Borderland Ensemble | ||
| 6:45 | Ian Blunden Organ Trio | 6:15 | Derrick Benford Quartet | ||
| 8:15 | Zen Zadravec Quintet | 7:45 | Smoke Jones and the Heart & Soul Big Band | ||
| Livonia Community Foundation | |||||
| Solo Piano Room | Cabaret Stage | ||||
| 12:15 | Kurt Schreitmueller | 12:30 | Atla & Matt DeChamplain | ||
| 1:30 | Bill Meyer | 1:45 | Vanessa Carr | Phil Lesky | ||
| 2:45 | Terry Lower | 3:00 | Jiana Hunter | Jacob Schwandt | ||
| 4:15 | Steve Talaga | 4:30 | Marvin Jones | Jay Valle | ||
| 5:30 | Aris Chalin | 5:45 | Sarah D’Angelo | Rick Roe | ||
| 6:45 | Mark Braun (Mr. B) | 7:00 | Lori LeFevre | Chris Buzzelli | ||
| Southeastern Michigan Jazz Association | DAVID SHARPE | ||||
| Future of Jazz Stage | Jazz Talks! | ||||
| 12:00 | Martyna Gogolkiewicz | 12:00 |
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| 1:15 | Wayne State Jazztet | 1:00 | George Sinnott interviews Dave Tatrow | ||
| 2:45 | Anderson Shelkey Quintet | 2:00 | Mark Stryker “The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit” | ||
| 4:00 | Dennis Tini’s Playing with the Pros | 4:00 | Rod Arroyo “Looking Back at Paradise Valley and Sugar Hill” | ||
| 5:45 | The Five | 6:00 | Jim Gallert “Blues Sensation: The Life and Times of Todd Rhodes” | ||
| 7:00 | Tran-Kitchen: The Fifth Line | ||||