Vivo Performing Arts launches its 2026 Fall Jazz performances with an inspiring lineup of internationally acclaimed artists, celebrated innovators, and free Neighborhood Arts performances that bring world-class music to audiences throughout Greater Boston. From a centennial celebration of John Coltrane’s enduring legacy to performances by some of today’s most compelling international artists, Vivo Performing Arts’ Fall Jazz performances explore the genre's extraordinary past and evolving future.
The Fall performances showcase Grammy Award-winning performers, rising stars, and cross-cultural collaborations in venues across Boston, including the Berklee Performance Center, the Boston Public Library's Shaw-Roxbury Branch, First Church in Roxbury, and more community gathering spaces throughout the region.
Highlights include vocalist Lizz Wright, whose soulful blend of jazz, folk, and gospel has earned international acclaim; eleven-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride and his electrifying ensemble Ursa Major; and Coltrane 100: "Both Directions at Once," an all-star celebration of John Coltrane's centennial featuring Joe Lovano, Melissa Aldana, Leo Genovese, Linda May Han Oh, and Jeff "Tain" Watts.
The season also reflects Vivo Performing Arts’ commitment to expanding access through its Neighborhood Arts programming, which offers free performances in partnership with community organizations across Greater Boston. This fall’s Neighborhood Arts events feature the Latin jazz trio Tríptico, vocalist Jonathan Gramling, pianist Pelin Su Yavuz as part of the partnership with the Roxbury Concert Series, the Nadia Washington Quartet, and more.
Thor Steingraber, President and CEO of Vivo Performing Arts, says, “This season honors the artists and ideas that have shaped jazz, including a celebration of the centennial of John Coltrane’s birth. Vivo also looks ahead to the musicians who continue to expand possibilities through performances by internationally acclaimed artists and free Neighborhood Arts concerts throughout Greater Boston. Altogether, the 2026-27 season features 24 jazz performances, making Vivo one of Boston’s leaders in the field.”
EVENT LISTINGS
Events and ticketing information listed below. Audience members 35 or younger can also access $40 tickets on the Vivo Performing Arts app.
The full season calendar may be found at vivoperformingarts.org.
Tríptico: Claudio Ragazzi, Georgie Rodriguez, Manolo Mairena
Cathedral Church of Saint Paul | Saturday, September 12, 3pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
This seasoned and stirring acoustic trio, hailing from Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica, bring their long careers and rich, diverse musical backgrounds to this afternoon of gorgeous covers and originals. Performing contemporary Latin jazz standards, and originals by Emmy- and Grammy-winning film and television composer Claudio Ragazzi, the trio skillfully and beautifully navigates a moving range of emotions, moods, and styles.
"Bala Bila": Balla Kouyaté, balafon and Matchume Zango, timbila
Bethel AME Church | Saturday, September 19, 3pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
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The joy of cultural conversation is discovered as West and East African percussion styles come together. Malian culture bearer and virtuoso of the balafon Balla Kouyaté teams with Mozambican timbila percussionist and educator Matchume Zango for an afternoon of high-energy music showcasing time-honored xylophone traditions with a contemporary twist.
Jonathan Gramling & Friends
Twelfth Baptist Church | Saturday, October 3, 3pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
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Vocalist Jonathan Gramling explores the threads that link reggae, gospel, soul, and jazz. With a lineup of remixes, mashups, originals, and genre-bending covers, this group deftly and joyfully weaves a story of soul music's evolution across styles, time, and culture.
Lizz Wright
Berklee Performance Center | Saturday, October 10, 8pm
Tickets: $34 - $84 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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Lizz Wright invites listeners closer, to share the communion and empathy that she extends to her audiences. With a folk-inflected jazz band, she creates original songs and covers that reflect the cultural fabric of America.
Christian McBride & Ursa Major
Berklee Performance Center | Wednesday, October 21, 8pm
Tickets: $34 - $84 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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The warmth, charisma, and joy of performance is a tangible delight when Christian McBride and Ursa Major perform together. The 11-time Grammy-winning superstar bassist and four rising stars have become what McBride calls an "all-in" band that can "go anywhere, musically." McBride and Ursa Major build irresistible grooves and dazzle with explosive solos in music that's sometimes swinging, sometimes funky, and always easy to like.
Christian McBride, bass
Nicole Glover, tenor saxophone
Ely Perlman, guitar
Mike King, piano
Savannah Harris, drums
Pelin Su Yavuz, piano
Presented in association with Roxbury Concert Series
Shaw-Roxbury Branch, Boston Public Library | Saturday, November 14, 12pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
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From Istanbul to Symphony Hall, Pelin Su Yavuz is reimagining and reaffirming what a 19-year-old can do. A Boston Calling headliner and a Boston Pops performer, she's an artist that needs to be experienced live.
Coltrane 100: "Both Directions at Once"
Joe Lovano, Melissa Aldana, Leo Genovese, Linda May Han Oh, Jeff "Tain" Watts
Berklee Performance Center | Saturday, November 21, 8pm
Tickets: $34 - $94 (Ticket fees included; all prices and availability subject to change)
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This year marks the centennial of the birth of iconic saxophonist John Coltrane. Coltrane 100 brings together saxophonists Joe Lovano and Melissa Aldana, pianist Leo Genovese, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts for a collective tribute reflecting Coltrane's enduring influence across generations, geographies, and musical traditions.
Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone
Melissa Aldana, tenor saxophone
Leo Genovese, piano
Linda May Han Oh, bass
Jeff "Tain" Watts, drums
Nadia Washington Quartet
First Church in Roxbury | Saturday, December 5, 3pm
Tickets are free with RSVP as part of Neighborhood Arts
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Powerhouse vocalist Nadia Washington and her longstanding Quartet share an afternoon of jazzy holiday favorites. The group, with their well-honed partnership promises to warm up December, reimagining Christmas classics and other wintery tunes.
Nadia Washington, vocals
Lee Fish, drums
Max Ridley, bass
Chase Morrin, piano
ABOUT VIVO PERFORMING ARTS
Vivo Performing Arts (formerly Celebrity Series of Boston) was founded in 1938 and, for generations, has welcomed Boston audiences to an array of outstanding performances. Vivo Performing Arts offers national and international talent in orchestral and chamber music, vocal and piano artistry, dance, and jazz in the city’s major concert venues as well as excellent Boston-based and -affiliated artists in its free Neighborhood Arts series and public performance projects. Guided by its values of equity, integrity, and collaboration, and its belief in the performing arts as a source of curiosity and joy, Vivo Performing Arts partners with artists, audiences, and neighborhoods to create experiences that strengthen connection and invite discovery. Through all of its ticketed and free offerings, the organization builds a Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, and shared experience—on stages, on streets, and in neighborhoods throughout the region.
Vivo Performing Arts is grateful to 2026/27 Season Sponsors Crescendo Donor Advised Fund and The Thonis Family, and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to enrich and inspire our community through exceptional live performances. Individual and institutional supporters include Jill & David Altshuler, Leslie & Howard Appleby, Keith Backman in memory of Dr. Ulla M. Hansen, the Barr Foundation, Amy & Joshua Boger, Michael & Adrianne Canning, Debra & Joseph Corrado, Crescendo Donor Advised Fund, Google, Yvette & Lawrence Hochberg, Barbara & Amos Hostetter, Klarman Family Foundation, Lizbeth & George Krupp, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Nancy & Richard Lubin, Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, Eleanor & Frank Pao, Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford, Rabb Family Foundations, Reuben Reynolds, Royal Little Family Foundation, Schraff Charitable Trust, Sally S. Seaver, PhD, Samuel & Gretchen Shubrooks, Jeremy Silverman & Mary Sutherland, The Estate of Marylen Sternweiler, Lawrence T. Stifler & Mary McFadden in honor of Gary Dunning, Belinda Termeer, The Thonis Family, Dorothy Altman Weber in memory of Stephen Weber, Nancy Richmond Winsten, Anonymous (4), and many others.
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