NYC Winter Jazzfest will hold its 2025 edition from January 9-15 at venues all over Manhattan and Brooklyn, including Town Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, Brooklyn Bowl, Mercury Lounge, City Winery, Public Records, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Nublu and more. Early bird passes are on sale now and they’ve just announced the initial lineup.
Makaya McCraven is the 2025 Artist-in-Residence and will perform multiple times and in various forms during Winter Jazzfest, including a 10th Anniversary celebration of his 2015 album In the Moment.
The festival will also celebrate the 60th anniversary of John Coltrane’s iconic A Love Supreme with a concert featuring Ravi Coltrane followed by an improvised round-robin set with special guests TBA.
This year’s opening night concert features poet aja monet and her jazz band at Le Poisson Rouge, a show that also includes sets from Fay Victor and Sophye Soliveau.
A few other highlights: Christian McBride will have a three-night residency at Mercury Lounge (Jan 9-11); a tribute to Strata-East Records featuring Charles Tolliver, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, Billy Harper, Christian McBride, aja monet, Endea Owens, Steve Jordan, Keyon Harrold, Camille Thurman, and more TBA; and Joel Harrison and Alternative Guitar Summit will present a show with guitarists Gilad Hekselman, Anthony Pirog, Emmanuel Michael, Dida Pelled and Pedro Martins.
There are also “marathons” in Manhattan (January 10) and Brooklyn (January 11) where your pass gets you into multiple venues, encouraging discovery.
Full details on Winter Jazzfest are at their website, and you can check out the announced 2025 lineup below.
WINTER JAZZFEST 2025 INITIAL LINEUP
Makaya McCraven (Artist-in-Residence)
Adi Oasis
aja monet
Amaro Freitas
Andrew Cyrille
Arooj Aftab
Billy Harper
Billy Hart
Camille Thurman
Caroline Davis
Cecil McBee
Charles Tolliver
Christian McBride
Emma-Jean Thackray
Endea Owens
Fay Victor
ganavya
George Cables
Gilles Peterson
Isaiah Collier
J.Hoard
Jakob Bro
JD Allen
Jenny Scheinman
Joe Claussell
Kaoru Watanabe
Keyon Harrold
Kneebody
Kojo Melché Roney
Linda May Han Oh
Lion Babe
Lisa Fischer
Lucía
Matthew Whitaker
Melissa Aldana
Michael Mayo
Mahogany L. Browne
Moses Yoofee Trio
Nao Yoshioka
Next Jazz Legacy
Orrin Evans
Paul Cornish Trio
Pedro Martins
Ravi Coltrane
Riley Mulherkar
Roberto Fonseca
Roy Hargrove’s Crisol
Sirintip
SML
Sophye Soliveau
Stefon Harris & Blackout
Sun Ra Arkestra
The Air Legacy Trio
The Baylor Project
The Brother Moves On
Trio Imagination
Tyreek McDole
Vijay Iyer
Wadada Leo Smith
Wendy Eisenberg
zoh amba Sun Ensemble