This is a list of notable jazz festivals around the world.
Historic jazz festivals
Name Year Location Notes ImageAnn Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival 1969–present Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. Beaulieu Jazz Festival 1956–61 Beaulieu, Hampshire, UK Lord Montagu of Beaulieu holds an annual trad and modern jazz festival in the ground of Beaulieu estate, in the New Forest. Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival 1971–Present Davenport, Iowa, U.S.This 3 day jazz festival in Bix Beiderbecke's hometown of Davenport, IA began when a group of East Coast musicians came to Davenport to pay homage to Bix by playing over his grave. The jam session at a local hotel afterwards was so hugely popular that the idea to hold it annually was born. The festival drew tens of thousands and has been held every year since. 2021 marks its 50th anniversary, making it one of the longest running jazz fests in the U.S. Cavalcade of Jazz 1945–1958 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Leon Hefflin Sr. produced the Cavalcade of Jazz at Wrigley Field, with jazz giants such as Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Sam Cooke, Dinah Washington, Frankie Laine, Perez Prado, Sarah Vaughn, Valdez Orchestra, Ray Charles and over a hundred more artists. Clearwater Jazz Holiday 1979–present Clearwater, Florida, U.S. DC Jazz Festival 2005–present Washington, D.C., U.S. Festival International de Jazz 1959–1966 Comblain-la-Tour, Belgium For eight years, between 1959 and 1966 at the initiative of a GI who survived the Rundstedt Offensive, the small Walloon village turned into one of the landmarks of the jazz world. Performing artists included John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Stéphane Grappelli, Cannonball Adderley, Chet Baker, and Woody Herman. Five Points Jazz Festival (Denver)2003–presentDenver, Colorado, USAFive Points Jazz Festival is a free, all-day event held annually in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood. From its humble first year which featured one stage and only three bands, the festival has grown into an all-day event with almost 50 bands, 10 stages and performance spaces and 100,000 visitors. In 2020, DAV collaborated with Rocky Mountain PBS and KUVO to broadcast a virtual event that garnered two Colorado Broadcasters Association awards and a Heartland Emmy® nomination.Golden River City Jazz Festival 1960–2016 Kortrijk, BelgiumFocusing on Jazz. The Festival was an opportunity for The Golden River City Jazz Band to showcase their repertoire and to mingle with international musicians Jazz at the Lake: Lake George Jazz Weekend 1984–present Lake George, New York, U.S. Jazz Bilzen 1965–1981 Bilzen, BelgiumThis was the first festival on the continent where jazz and pop music were brought together. Sometimes called the "mother of all (European) festivals," Bilzen started out featuring jazz, but eventually incorporated blues, folk, rock and soul, punk and new wave as well. JazzFest Berlin 1964–present Berlin, GermanyThe festival's artistic concept has been to document, support, and validate trends in jazz, and to mirror the diversity of creative musical activity. Jefferson St. Jazz & Blues Festival 2000–present Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. Kongsberg Jazzfestival 1964–present Kongsberg, NorwayThe second jazz festival started in Norway. Moldejazz 1961–present Molde, NorwayThe first jazz festival in Norway. Montreal International Jazz Festival1979–presentMontreal, Quebec, CanadaThe Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (English: Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 artists from 30-odd countries, more than 650 concerts (including 450 free outdoor performances), and welcomes over 2 million visitors (12.5% of whom are tourists) as well as 300 accredited journalists. The festival takes place at 20 different stages, which include free outdoor stages and indoor concert halls.National Jazz and Blues Festival 1961–1980s United KingdomOriginally oriented around jazz and blues, this annual festival soon became a showcase for progressive rock as well, featuring groups such as the psychedelic rock group Cream. Nattjazz 1972–present Bergen, NorwayThis is a central jazz festival in Norway oriented around the variety of jazz. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 1970–present New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.This annual festival celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana, so the music encompasses every style associated with the city and the state: contemporary and traditional jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, Cajun music, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk music, Latin, rock, rap music, country music, and bluegrass. Newport Jazz Festival 1954–present Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard. While initially focused on acoustic jazz, the festival's 1969 program was an experiment in fusing jazz, soul and rock music and audiences. Ocean Blue Jazz Festival mid-1990s–early 2000s Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Panama Jazz Festival2003–presentPanamaWith almost 20 years, the Panama Jazz Festival has become a cultural tourism attraction with the visit of more than 500,000 people from different latitudes. Currently, the event is sustainable thanks to the work of Patricia Zárate de Pérez, Executive Director of the festival who leads a team of 70 coordinators, 500 volunteers, 300 national and international musicians, and about 200 collaborators from all sectors of Panama, adding more than 1,000 people who work hard to carry out the event.Pori Jazz 1966–present Pori, FinlandThe first festival was based on acoustic jazz, but electric jazz and other rhythm music, blues, soul, funk, hip-hop and Cuban and Brazilian music gradually took foot. Prague International Jazz Festival 1964–present Prague, Czech Republic Jersey City Jazz Festival 2013–present Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.An annual festival in June based out of Hudson County. The festival (previously known as Riverview Jazz Festival) was started to create an awareness of the internationally known jazz musicians living in Jersey City. Tobago Jazz Festival 2004–present Trinidad and TobagoAmerican magazine Forbes in 2008 voted the festival "third Biggest Event on Planet Earth"
Jazz festivals by country
The following is an incomplete list of notable jazz festivals, including both current and defunct festivals of note.
Africa
Angola Luanda International Jazz Festival in Luanda
Lesotho Morija Arts & Cultural Festival in Morija Morocco Tanjazz in Tangier
Nigeria Lagos International Jazz Festival in Lagos Music Week Africa
South Africa Cape Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town National Youth Jazz Festival in Grahamstown
Americas
Argentina Buenos Aires Jazz Festival in Buenos Aires
Barbados
Barbados Jazz Festival
Brazil Fest Bossa & Jazz in Rio Grande do Norte
Canada
Halifax Jazz Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia Beaches International Jazz Festival in Toronto Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival in Oakville, Ontario Festi Jazz International de Rimouski, Rimouski, Quebec Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick Montreal International Jazz Festival in Montreal Ottawa Jazz Festival in Ottawa Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest in Saskatoon, Regina, and Prince Albert in Saskatchewan TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival in Edmonton, Alberta Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival in Toronto, Ontario Vancouver International Jazz Festival in Vancouver Winnipeg International Jazz Festival in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Haiti Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival
Jamaica Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival
Mexico Nuevo León Jazz Festival in Monterrey Riviera Maya Jazz Festival in Playa del Carmen
Panama Panama Jazz Festival
Puerto Rico Ponce Jazz Festival
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia Jazz Festival
Trinidad and Tobago Tobago Jazz Festival
United States
Alabama Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival in Birmingham W. C. Handy Music Festival in Florence
Alaska Sitka Jazz Festival in Sitka
California Banjo Jubilee Jazz Festival in San Jose Berkeley Jazz Festival in Berkeley Cavalcade of Jazz in Los Angeles Concord Jazz Festival in Concord Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey Playboy Jazz Festival in Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in Sacramento San Francisco Blues Festival San Francisco Jazz Festival in San Francisco San Jose Jazz Festival in San Jose Stanford Jazz Festival in Palo Alto Yosemite International Jazz Festival in Coarsegold
Connecticut Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen
Delaware Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington
District of Columbia DC Jazz Festival
Florida Jacksonville Jazz Festival in Jacksonville
Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow
Illinois Chicago Jazz Festival in Chicago
Indiana Indy Jazz Fest in Indianapolis Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival in Notre Dame
Iowa Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Davenport Louisiana French Quarter Festival in New Orleans Highland Jazz & Blues Festival in Shreveport New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans Satchmo SummerFest in New Orleans
Massachusetts Provincetown Jazz Festival in Provincetown Tanglewood Jazz Festival in Tanglewood
Michigan Detroit International Jazz Festival in Detroit
Minnesota Twin Cities Jazz Festival in Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Nebraska Omaha Blues, Jazz, & Gospel Festival in Omaha
New Jersey James Moody Jazz Festival in Newark, New Jersey Exit Zero Jazz Festival (Cape May, NJ) 2012–present, 2 times annually
New York Blue Note Jazz Festival in New York Cityhttp://www.bluenotejazzfestival.com Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City Rochester International Jazz Festival in Rochester Saratoga Jazz Festival (aka Freihofer's Jazz Festival) in Saratoga Springs Vision Festival in New York City Jazz at the Lake: Lake George Jazz Weekend in upstate New York
Oregon Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, Portland Portland Jazz Festival, Portland Vanport Jazz Festival, Portland
Pennsylvania RiverJazz Festival in Bethlehem
Rhode Island Newport Jazz Festival in Newport
South Dakota Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival in Sioux Falls
Texas Denton Arts and Jazz Festival in Denton Fort Worth Music Festival, formerly Jazz By The Boulevard
Virginia Hampton Jazz Festival in Hampton
Washington Centrum (also known as Jazz Port Townsend) Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle
Asia
Azerbaija
Baku International Jazz Festival in Baku
China Beijing Jazz Festival in Beijing
Georgia Black Sea Jazz Festival in Batumi Tbilisi Jazz Festival in Tbilisi
India Indigo Jazz and Blues Festival
Indonesia Jakarta International Jazz Festival - Jak.Jazz in Jakarta Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival - Java Jazz in Jakarta Jazz Goes To Campus in Depok, West Javahttp://www.jazzgoestocampus.net/ North Sumatra Jazz Festival in Medan, North Sumatra
Israel Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat
Japan Live under the sky in Tokyo Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival in Yamanashi Newport Jazz Festival in Madarao
Nepal Jazzmandu in Kathmandu
Philippines The Philippine International Jazz & Arts Festival
South Korea Jarasum International Jazz Festival in Jarasum Seoul Jazz Festival in Seoul
Taiwan Taichung Jazz Festival in Taichung
Thailand Bangkok Jazz Festival in Bangkok Hua Hin Jazz Festival in Hua Hin
United Arab Emirates Dubai International Jazz Festival
Europe
Belgium Blue Note Festival in Ghent Django à Liberchies in Liberchies Golden River City Jazz Festival in Kortrijk Jazz Bilzen Jazz Middelheim in Antwerp
Bosnia and Herzegovina Jazz Fest Sarajevo in Sarajevo
Bulgaria Varna Jazz Days Festival in Varna,
Denmark Aarhus International Jazz Festival in Aarhus Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Copenhagen
Finland April Jazz in Espoo Baltic Jazz in Dalsbruk (Taalintehdas), Kimitoön Pori Jazz in Pori