SINCE 1962, THE RENO JAZZ FESTIVAL HAS DRAWN JAZZ STUDENTS, INSTRUCTORS, FANS, AND PROFESSIONAL PERFORMERS TO RENO TO PLAY, LISTEN, AND LEARN. AND WHAT A RANGE OF JAZZ THE FESTIVAL HAS FEATURED OVER THE YEARS... FROM SOLO PERFORMERS TO LARGE ENSEMBLES, FROM THE MOST STRAIGHT-AHEAD TO THE FURTHEST REACHES OF THE AVANT-GARDE. THE FESTIVAL OFFERS PUBLIC PERFORMANCES BY WORLD-RENOWNED MUSICIANS FROM ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, ASIA, AND EUROPE. OUR GUEST ARTISTS REPRESENT SOME OF THE MOST CREATIVE AND CELEBRATED MUSICIANS IN JAZZ HISTORY: ART BLAKEY, RAY BROWN, ROY HAYNES, LEE KONITZ, MICHAEL BRECKER, JON HENDRICKS, DAVE HOLLAND, BOBBY HUTCHERSON, CHARLIE HADEN, MARIA SCHNEIDER, RAVI COLTRANE, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON… 2019 WILL BE NO DIFFERENT as we present some of the top names in jazz such as Melissa Aldana, a remarkable tenor saxophonist who won the 2013 Thelonious Monk Competition and whom the Washington Post describes as representing "a new sense of possibility and direction in jazz."

This year’s other headliner is another great tenor saxophonist, Walter Smith III, who has appeared on over 100 recordings worldwide and has been compared by the New York Times to Miles Davis for his outstanding band-leading ability. As always, we will also be presenting many workshops with some of the finest clinicians and performers in the country. With more than 300 school groups, up to 10,000 participants, and 60 clinicians, performers, and adjudicators, we continue to strive to ensure that every guest participant leaves with greater knowledge, appreciation, and love of music and the world of jazz. The Reno Jazz Festival is a massive undertaking, and it would not be possible without help from all of our co-sponsors and volunteers. Special thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts, Nevada Arts Council, City of Reno, Absolute Music, and to our own University of Nevada, Reno for its unfailing support over the past three decades, especially from the School of the Arts and College of Liberal Arts. Thanks must also be given to all of the tireless music educators who have chosen to go above and beyond the call of duty each and every year to fundraise and organize a trip for their students to attend the Reno Jazz Festival! We are so fortunate in that we get to see and hear some of the very best student musicians each year.

We cannot thank you enough for your loyalty to the Reno Jazz Festival and for your commitment to music education in general.