The MIAMI DOWNTOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL will offer daylong free music in several locations in Downtown Miami on Friday, February 24, 2017, during scattered times from 12 pm – 9 pm at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center Plaza, History Miami, Miami Dade College, the Olympia Theater, Gesu Catholic Church, and the Southeast Financial Center Plaza, free music on Saturday, February 25, 2017 from 11 am – 6 pm at Tina Hills Pavillion in Bayfront Park and the main ticketed event from 6 pm – 11 pm at the Bayfront Park Ampitheater with NEA Jazz Masters Paquito D’Rivera and Hubert Laws, plus Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, and Chico Pinheiro. Almost 30 bands with over 200 local, national, and international musicians will perform, including Grammy® Award-winning Bryan Lynch, Dafnis Prieto, Kevin Mahogany, and Dr. Ed Calle, plus Brenda Alford, Sammy Figueroa, Ira Sullivan, Othello Molineau, Emmet Cohen, Tal Cohen, SPAM Allstars, Nicole Yarling, Felipe Lamoglia, and many more.
For over thirty years WDNA 88.9FM Public Radio has seen the Jazz community in South Florida grow and evolve into what it is today—a vibrant multigenerational, multicultural community that believes that music—all music, not just Jazz, is an intrinsic part of our lives and should be shared and taught. Since our music is Jazz, the inaugural MIAMI DOWNTOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL will be just a sampling of the outstanding men and women who make music in Miami and all over the world. We hope you enjoy them!
This Festival would not have been possible without the generous support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Knight Arts Challenge, funding the best ideas for engaging and enriching communities through the arts.
