Jazz at Cal Performances

The jazz series at Cal Performances embraces all the stylistic diversity the genre has to offer, from hot jazz to bebop to innovative new work, from introspective solo sets to hard-swinging big bands. Legends like Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Joshua Redman, Dianne Reeves, Pat Metheny, and Maria Schneider have graced the stage of Zellerbach Hall in transporting performances, and audiences have been introduced to newer generations of stars like Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kris Davis, Jason Moran, Darcy James Argue, Amir ElSaffar, and Vijay Iyer.

Jazz highlights in the 2021–22 season include the duo of Cuban-born brothers Ilmar Gavilán and Aldo López-Gavilán; the program Two Wings: The Music of Black America in Migration featuring Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran; and the West Coast premiere of the opera Iphigenia by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding—plus sets by vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, pianist Matthew Whitaker, trumpeter/vocalist Bria Skonberg, and pianist Aaron Diehl.