The New Mexico Jazz Festival is a collaborative project of the Outpost Performance Space, the Lensic, Santa Fe’s Performing Arts Center, and the Santa Fe Jazz Foundation, all 501(c)3 non profit organizations. The two week Festival takes place each year in the last two weeks of July. The New Mexico Jazz Festival is exciting in that it features local as well as world renowned artists and jazz masters and brings together the two major New Mexico cities— Albuquerque & Santa Fe.

HISTORY: Founded in 2006, the New Mexico Jazz Festival followed on the work of the Open Arts Foundation’s Santa Fe Jazz and International Music Festival (2000-2005) which produced hundreds of concerts and brought an unprecedented wealth of high quality jazz to Santa Fe.

In 2006, our inaugural effort presented McCoy Tyner, Branford Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, the Newport Jazz Allstars, and more. In 2007 we expanded our efforts and presented more concerts in both cities including performances by the legendary Sonny Rollins in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. We also inaugurated a partnership with the City of Albuquerque’s Summerfest by offering 5 hours of music on Civic Plaza— an evening which was free and open to the public and which was capped by a performance by Toumani Diabaté’s Symmetric Orchestra. 2008 saw the performances of Cassandra Wilson, Pharoah Sanders, Kenny Garrett, Habib Koite, Allen Toussaint and more; and in 2009 we featured Jimmy Heath, the Mingus Dynasty, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dave & Don Grusin, Kurt Elling and more. 2010 was another great line-up with Tom McDermott, Stepology, Doug Lawrence with Jimmy Cobb, Simone, Somi, Los Pleneros de 21, Bitches Brew Revisited, Miguel Zenon, Toshiko Akiyoshi with Lew Tabackin, and more. And last year (2011) we presented Randy Weston, Mose Allison, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Christian McBride, John & Bucky Pizzarelli and more. In 2010 under the new administration of Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry, Summerfest moved from Civic Plaza to Route 66 in the Nob Hill neighborhood where 20,000 people (30,000 in 2011) listened to music on 3 stages culminating in the headlining performance of Los Pleneros de la 21 (2010) and Maceo Parker (2011).

 

7th Annual
NEW MEXICO JAZZ FESTIVAL
JULY 13-29, 2012
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Stephane wrembel FRIDAY, JULY 13, 8PM OUTPOST ALBUQUERQUE $25/$20 more info

LENI STERN & THE MASTERS OF AFRICAN PERCUSSION SATURDAY, JULY 14, 7-9PM OLD TOWN PLAZA, ALBUQUERQUE FREE more info

Paul Slaughter: Portraits of Jazz 1969-2012 SUNDAY, JULY 15, 7-9PM OUTPOST ALBUQUERQUE FREE more info

BUSY MCCARROLL & THE AMBASSADORS OF PLEASURE DOUG LAWRENCE ORGAN TRIO TUESDAY, JULY 17, 6-9PM SANTA FE PLAZA, SANTA FE FREE more info

REGINA CARTER'S REVERSE THREAD THURSDAY, JULY 19, 7:30PM LENSIC SANTA FE $45/$35/$25/$15 more info

JUSTIN RAY PROJECT FRIDAY, JULY 20, 8PM OUTPOST ALBUQUERQUE $25/$20 more info

Doug lawrence organ trio DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND + MORE, MORE, & MORE SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2-10:30PM ROUTE 66 NOB HILL SUMMERFEST ALBUQUERQUE FREE more info

DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND ALLEN TOUSSAINT SUNDAY, JULY 22, 7:30PM LENSIC SANTA FE $45/$35/$25/$15 more info

Ravi coltrane quartet WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 8PM THURSDAY, JULY 26, 8PM OUTPOST ALBUQUERQUE $35/$30 more info

DIANNE REEVES NEA Jazz master SHEILA JORDAN FRIDAY, JULY 27, 7:30PM LENSIC SANTA FE $60/45/35/25 more info

Meet the Artist A.B. Spellman WITH NEA JAZZ MASTERS SHEILA JORDAN & JON HENDRICKS SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2PM LENSIC SANTA FE FREE more info

KURT ELLING NEA JAZZ MASTER JON HENDRICKS SATURDAY, JULY 28, 7:30PM LENSIC SANTA FE $60/45/35/25 more info

A.B. SPELLMAN HAKIM BELLAMY SUNDAY, JULY 29, 2PM OUTPOST ALBUQUERQUE FREE more info

kurt elling SUNDAY, JULY 29, 8PM OUTPOST ALBUQUERQUE $35/$30 more info