Santa Monica Jazz Festival Debuts May
Santa Monica will host its inaugural International Jazz Festival scheduled for May 1-3, 2026, featuring major headliners including Kamasi Washington and Stanley Clarke alongside talented student musicians from Santa Monica High School. This event marks a significant addition to the Southern California jazz calendar and highlights the genre's intergenerational appeal.
- The festival will take place from May 1-9, 2026, extending beyond the initially mentioned three days. - Four-time Grammy winner and bassist Stanley Clarke is the festival's artistic director and has been the artist in residence at BroadStage since 2023, where he mentors Santa Monica College and Santa Monica High School students. - The event is set to commemorate the 100th anniversaries of jazz legends Miles Davis and John Coltrane, as well as the centennial of Route 66, which ends at the Santa Monica Pier. - Performances will be held at various locations across the city, including Tongva Park, BroadStage, and the Third Street Promenade. - The lineup also features the Miles Electric Band, a group of Miles Davis alumni, and a tribute to John Coltrane with saxophonists Isaiah Collier and Lakecia Benjamin. - Santa Monica High School's jazz program, whose students will be performing, is a dual enrollment program with Santa Monica College and has a history of winning awards at regional competitions. - The festival's final day, May 9, will be a ticketed concert at Tongva Park headlined by Kamasi Washington, marking the first full-scale concert at the park. - Additional featured artists include jazz pianist Hiromi's Sonicwonder and the electronic jazz-funk duo KNOWER.
