Jazz at LACMA returns this week

Jazz at LACMA resumes Friday, May 1, with vocalist and composer Michelle Coltrane opening the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s free weekly concert series. (lacma.org) LACMA lists the performance for 6 p.m. at Smidt Welcome Plaza. Its event calendar says Michelle Coltrane will “kick off the 35th season” and mark the John Coltrane centennial. (lacma.org 1) (lacma.org 2) The museum’s weekly roundup for April 27 says the concert is part of a broader stretch of member previews and public programming around the David Geffen Galleries opening. Friday museum hours run until 8 p.m. (unframed.lacma.org) LACMA’s visitor page now says Jazz at LACMA runs on Fridays from April through October. Its event page for the May 1 opener still describes the series as running from May through October. (lacma.org 1) (lacma.org 2) That shift puts the first 2026 concert on May 1, the first Friday after April’s final week, and moves the museum’s long-running jazz program back onto spring calendars across Los Angeles. (welikela.com) (lacma.org) Outside listings describe the concerts as free and first-come, first-served, with seating in the welcome plaza and room to listen from the lawn. LACMA’s own pages frame the program as a showcase for Los Angeles jazz musicians. (thehollywoodhome.com) (lacma.org) We Like L.A. included the return of Jazz at LACMA in its April 27 to May 1 list of city events, signaling the series is back on the weekly culture beat after the winter break. (welikela.com) For Angelenos, the practical details are simple: Friday, May 1, 6 p.m., Smidt Welcome Plaza, Michelle Coltrane, and no ticket required for the concert itself. (lacma.org)