The 39th Sarasota Jazz Festival, “Generations of Jazz,” explodes into town with a full week of music and excitement. Beginning Sunday, March 3, through Saturday, March 9, the Jazz Club of Sarasota will present 120+ musicians in 49+ events at the Hyatt Regency and 14 other locations at prices ranging from free to $55, with hotel, VIP and discount packages available.

Festival week opens with Jazz in the Park, a free outdoor concert with three bands, on Sunday, March 3. During the week the music is wall-to-wall inside the Hyatt and block-to-block during the Pub Crawl by Trolley to ten night clubs. Presentations at the Hyatt include five genres of jazz: straight-ahead on the main stage plus blues, Latin, classic and contemporary jazz on four themed stages. In the four mainstage concerts, music director Ken Peplowski pairs jazz legends with rising stars. Even younger artists—the top three winners of the Jazz Club’s High School Band Contest—make their mainstage debut. With “Jazz Goes to the Movies,” on two mornings, musicians play a live introduction to the classic film “‘Round Midnight” starring Dexter Gordon. This wide-ranging festival also includes a theatrical presentation, the workshop production of a new play with music, Lil & Louis, about the Armstrongs, the “first couple of jazz.” For details and a schedule, visit the website below.

Sarasota Jazz Festival