Monterey Jazz Festival

Program Registration: 3:00-5:00 p.m. Register at the front desk of Los Laureles Lodge to get your room assignments and welcome packet with any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. Please let us know if you will be arriving late. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Reception: 5:00 p.m. In the Lodge’s Saloon, we will meet fellow Road Scholars and have cheese and crackers; beverages from the bar available for purchase.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

Orientation. In the Terrace Garden Room, the Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. All of our meals and classes will take place in the Terrace Garden Room overlooking the Lodge’s pool and scenic gardens. Our class instructor and Group Leader, Ali Ryerson — jazz flutist, teacher, international performing artist, and a frequent performing guest at the festival — will provide a brief overview of the festival, the longest running jazz festival in the world, first presented in 1958. Our tickets are for the same reserved seats in the Arena for all shows on the Jimmy Lyons Stage over the Festival weekend, and allows access to the other Grounds Stages. The Monterey Jazz Festival also features an international array of food, drink, and festivities. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

We’ll attend a Jazz History-Repertoire class led by our jazz teacher/performer who will discuss the festival performers and their repertoire. The first Monterey Jazz Festival in September 1958 featured jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, John Lewis, Shelly Manne, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Ernestine Anderson, Harry James, Max Roach, and Billie Holiday.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

In our next Jazz History-Repertoire class, we’ll learn more about the festival performers and their repertoire. Each year the Monterey Jazz Festival brings together hundreds of performing artists from all over the world. The Festival weekend features many performances across multiple stages. These artists cover a diverse and vibrant range of musical styles and influences, making the Monterey Jazz Festival a role model in the performing arts, reaching heights that founder Jimmy Lyons imagined it could ever be.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

We will travel by bus to the Monterey County Fairgrounds and attend the 67th Monterey Jazz Festival. Bus drop-off will be on Garden Road by the Gate 3 ticket entrance. Our tickets permit us to explore the entire festival and attend the performances we choose in the Arena and other stages spread across 20 acres of oak-studded grounds. The Arena has backed reserved seats to relax and enjoy the performances. Friday evening features a few main performances at the Jimmy Lyon’s Arena Stage and several smaller performances at the multiple ground stages. The first Arena performance is Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah. He is an award winning sonic architect, trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, designer of innovative technologies and musical instruments. NPR praised his new style as “Ushering in a new era of Jazz" and JazzTimes Magazine describe him as "Jazz's young style God" and “the architect of a commercially viable fusion.” The next Arena performer is Samara Joy, a 23 year old jazz singing sensation and three time Grammy Award winner. The New York Times praised the “silky-voiced rising star” for “helping jazz take a youthful turn” while NPR’s All Things Considered named her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation.” The final Arena performance of the evening is José James presents 1978. José James artfully blurs the lines between traditional and contemporary jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, pop and rock. 1978 is James’ twelfth album and represents his birth year and also a very influential year in music with merging of styles of American music with reggae and African music. For more detailed information on each performance and artist, please visit http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org. The bus will return to the lodge after the last scheduled concert ends. For those who wish to return to the lodge earlier, there will be an early bus each night approximately 1 to 1.5 hours before the last scheduled concert ends.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

In our next Jazz History-Repertoire class, we’ll learn more about the festival performers and their repertoire. Main Arena performances pay tribute to the rich history of jazz and the festival, while also expanding and challenging the scope and breadth of jazz, blues, and rock, looking towards the future of jazz.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

We’ll enjoy more of the 67th Monterey Jazz Festival. Saturday afternoon features many outstanding performances across the Jimmy Lyon’s Arena Stage and multiple grounds stages. Your jazz classes will provide background on the performers and their music so you can best select which performances you wish to see. The afternoon performing artists at the Arena stage are Blind Boys of Alabama with special guest Bobby Rush, Joshua Redman Group feat. Gabrielle Savassa “Where We Are” Tour, Cory Henry, and Somi. For more detailed information on each performance and artist, please visit http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. The Monterey Jazz Festival hosts a number of diverse food and beverage vendors.

More of the Jazz Festival. Saturday evening features three main performances at the Jimmy Lyon’s Arena Stage and several smaller performances across the ground stages. The first Arena performance is Hiromi’s Sonciwonder, the newest and funkiest album by world-renowned pianist Hiromi who describes the hard-hitting nine-song set as “a new journey of adventure,” that began in her imagination. The album incorporates sounds from many instruments and artists including bassist Hadrien Feraud, drummer Gene Coye, and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill. The next Arena performance is Stanley Clark No4EVER. “After the pandemic hiatus, I’m invigorated being back on the road. The audience, creativity of the band and new music arrangements, makes my artistic life complete,” stated Clarke. The Stanley Clarke No4EVER tour’s emphasizes Clarke’s jazz fusion legacy and it’s young band members bring a dynamic youthful energy and freshness to the music. The final Arena performance Saturday night is Mumu Fresh (also known as Maimouna Youssef), a critically acclaimed Afro-Indigenous singer, emcee, songwriter, activist, workshop facilitator and audio engineer who’s been called a “quadruple threat” by The Roots’ Black Thought and “groundbreaking” by Oscar-winning artist, Common. For more detailed information on each performance and artist, please visit http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org. The bus will return to the lodge after the last scheduled concert ends. For those who wish to return to the lodge earlier, there will be an early bus each night approximately 1 to 1.5 hours before the last scheduled concert ends.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

In our next Jazz History-Repertoire class, we’ll learn more about the festival performers and their repertoire. The not-for-profit Monterey Jazz Festival has been committed to music education since its inception, currently investing more than $600,000 annually in jazz education. The festival runs a number of educational programs including the “Next Generation Jazz Orchestra” that selects top high school musicians from around the county to celebrate the future of jazz in musical tours and a performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

In the Terrace Garden Room.

We’ll attend the Jazz Festival and enjoy more great music. Sunday afternoon features many outstanding performances across the Jimmy Lyon’s Arena Stage and multiple grounds stages. Your jazz classes will provide background on the performers and their music so you can best select which performances you wish to see. The afternoon performing artists at the Arena stage are the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra with the Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo: Jason Moran’s Ellington 125, Lila Downs, Donald Lawrence & Company, and Eastwood Symphonic. For more detailed information on each performance and artist, please visit http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. The Monterey Jazz Festival hosts a number of diverse food and beverage vendors.

Enjoy the final performances at the Jazz Festival. Sunday evening features three main performances at the Jimmy Lyon’s Arena Stage and several smaller performances across the ground stages. The first Arena performance is Mavis Staples. A clarion call to love, faith, justice, brotherhood, and joy—lies at the heart of “We Get By”, her spectacular twelfth studio album. One of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace, 80 year old Staples is a once-in-a-generation artist whose impact on music and culture would be difficult to overstate. The next Arena performance is Robert Glasper feat. Yebba. Robert Glasper is the Monterey Jazz Festival’s 2024 Commission Artist. Glasper is the leader of a new sonic paradigm with a career that bridges musical and artistic genres. Glasper has five Grammy wins and 12 nominations across 11 categories, an Emmy Award, and a Peabody Award. His work bridges all aspects of the music business. He performs with Yebba, 29-year-old soul singer, songwriter, and arranger. The Daily Telegraph (UK) describes her as “one-in-a-million voice destined for the spotlight… Not since Amy Winehouse has there been a voice like this.” The final Arena performance is Keyon Harrold presents “Foreveland” feat. JP Morton. Award-winning trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Keyon Harrold will be touring in support of a new recording “Foreverland.” This outstanding crossover album features a bevy of collaborators from British R&B vocalist Laura and emerging singer Malaya, to Common, Robert Glasper and Grammy-winner PJ Morton.” For more detailed information on each performance and artist, please visit http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org. The bus will return to the lodge after the last scheduled concert ends. For those who wish to return to the lodge earlier, there will be an early bus each night approximately 1 to 1.5 hours before the last scheduled concert ends. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

In the Terrace Garden Room. This concludes our program.

If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!