This fall, JazzFest White Plains returns for its 13th year with more energy and excitement than ever. The five-day festival presents 18 live performances taking place across downtown White Plains – from emerging talent to world-renowned artists, including four Grammy Award-winners and nominees. More info here.
WESTCHESTER’S FAVORITE JAZZ FESTIVAL RETURNS!
2024 Performance Schedule
(artists and schedule subject to change)
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11
12-1:15pm | Pasquale Grasso Trio | FREE
Downtown Music at Grace
33 Church Street, White Plains
Pasquale Grasso is an Italian jazz guitarist, bandleader, composer, arranger and teacher. Hailed by Pat Metheny as ‘the best guitarist he’s heard in his entire life,’ Grasso has performed alongside jazz greats including Barry Harris, Ari Roland, Charles Davis and Frank Wess, and many others. Born in Italy, Grasso studied with Walter Zanetti, before moving to NYC in 2012. You may also know him as an accompanist to vocalist Samara Joy on her GRAMMY Award-winning album Linger Awhile (2002).
12:30-2:00pm | TBA | FREE
White Plains Farmers Market, 59 Court St.
8:00-9:00pm | Jazz & Poetry Collective | $10
ArtsWestchester Gallery
31 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains
The Jazz & Poetry Choir Collective (J&PCC) will share original pieces and pay homage to artists who are known for working across poetry and jazz improvisation. J&PCC members bring experience, narrative and playfulness to the stage, taking the art of spoken word jazz to a new level. The performance will feature Westchester County Poet Laureate Phylisha Villanueva.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT, SEPT. 11
JAZZ STROLL
FREE admissions does not include drinks
5:00pm – Kristina Koller
Shiraz Kitchen | 80 Mamaroneck Avenue
6:15pm – Aaron Seeber Trio
Chazz Palminteri | 264 Main Street
7:30pm – Chembo Corniel Trio
Colombian House | 175 Main Street
THURSDAY, SEPT. 12
6:30pm | Jazz Under the Starz | Selwyn Birchwood
Including dinner served by Via Garibaldi
White Plains Plaza | One North Broadway
Dinner and performance $70 per person | Cash Bar
*price includes reception, performance, tax and gratuity
Hailed by Rolling Stone as “a remarkable, contemporary bluesman” and “a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist,” Selwyn Birchwood has established himself as one of blues music’s most prodigious and visionary young artists.
Join us for a one-of-a-kind concert reception.
Advance ticket purchase includes:
- Live performance
- 3-course family style dinner (inclusive of tax & gratuity)
- Prime seating on the plaza
This performance will take place outdoors with advanced ticket purchase required for prime viewing. Non-ticket holders are welcome to enjoy the performance on the Plaza, but must bring their own chairs. In the event of rain, this event will be moved indoors.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 13
12-1pm | Jazz at Noon: Vanessa Racci Jazzy Italian | FREE
White Plains Public Library Plaza | 100 Martine Avenue
This program celebrates Italian Americans who made their mark on jazz. Descended from Southern Italian immigrants, Vanessa Racci grew up living with her Barese grandfather who played Jazz and Italian classics throughout the house. Racci is known for creating her own unique sound, blending jazz and Italian influences. Her most recent album, Jazzy Italian (2022, Zoho Jazz label), was produced and arranged by GRAMMY Award-winner Steven Feifke, and was named among the Top 10 Traditional Jazz Albums of 2022 on the RMR jazz chart.
7 and 9pm | Nicole Zuraitis Quartet
ArtsWestchester | 31 Mamaroneck Avenue
SAVE on Prime Table Seating purchased before July 1:
$55 Prime Table Seating (7pm or 9pm) | $100 (7pm AND 9pm)
General Admission:
$45 (7pm or 9pm) | $80 (7pm AND 9pm)
(Children under 12 FREE)
After June 30: Prime Table Seating $65/$120
Nicole Zuraitis is a 2024 GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz singer-songwriter, pianist, arranger, New York-based bandleader and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. All About Jazz recently referred to her as a “poetess and purely expressive artist like no other.”
Her sixth album, How Love Begins, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride (2023), features all original music and was awarded the 2024 GRAMMY Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In addition to leading her quartet, Zuraitis is the premier vocalist for the Birdland Big Band and frequently headlines iconic NYC jazz clubs like Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center, Birdland and Blue Note. She is a proud educator and currently vocal faculty at NYU and SUNY Purchase.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 14
2pm-3pm | The MCW Jazz Faculty Ensemble: The History of Jazz
3pm-4pm | Jazz Jam with MCW Faculty
FREE
Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Ave.
The Music Conservatory Westchester (MCW) Faculty Jazz Ensemble presents The History of Jazz, a concert with musical selections that represent the evolution of jazz and its growth throughout the 20th Century. The concert, which will feature MCW’s world-class faculty, will take place in the Conservatory’s Recital Hall and will be streamed live online.
A jam session will immediately follow the concert program. This session is open to all ages and levels of experience and will be facilitated by MCW faculty.
7 & 9pm | Vijay Iyer Trio, featuring Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh
ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue
SAVE on Prime Table Seating purchased before July 1:
$55 Prime Table Seating (7pm or 9pm) | $100 (7pm AND 9pm)
General Admission:
$45 (7pm or 9pm) | $80 (7pm AND 9pm)
(Children under 12 FREE)
After June 30: Prime Table Seating $65/$120
Composer/pianist Vijay Iyer, one of the leading music makers of his generation, comes to the JazzFest White Plains with his acclaimed trio, featuring Linda May Han Oh (bass) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). Praised by NPR as “truly astonishing” and by the New York Times as “the great new jazz piano trio” the ensemble makes emotionally resonant music that is rooted in tradition yet steeped in innovation.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 15
(All day event – Rain or Shine, thanks to our massive tent to keep you dry!)
FREE TO THE PUBLIC
12:30-7:30pm | White Plains Jazz & Food Festival
Mamaroneck Ave. (between Main St. and Martine Ave.)
12:30-1:15pm | Westchester Center for Jazz & Contemporary Music
The Westchester Center for Jazz & Contemporary Music provides opportunities for musicians of diverse backgrounds, abilities and ages to develop their skills in jazz and other related musical forms. This performance features a selection of the Center’s top student musicians and faculty.
1:45-2:45pm | Anaïs Reno Quartet
Anaïs Reno has had a rapidly growing career as a singer with a love for jazz and the Great American Songbook. Since age 10, she has been singing with acclaimed musicians including KT Sullivan, Billy Stritch, Tedd Firth, Catherine Russel, and Emmet Cohen, to name a few. Her performance highlights include David Geffen Hall, Rose Hall, NJPAC, Birdland and more. Reno’s debut album, Lovesome Thing: Anaïs Reno sings Ellington & Strayhorn with the Emmet Cohen trio (2020), received international critical acclaim, climbing to no 6 on the jazz chart after performing in the Top 10 for 4 consecutive weeks.
3:15–4:15pm | Brandon Sanders
Drummer Brandon Sanders is known for his hard-swinging yet sophisticated approach to acoustic post-bop jazz. He first garnered attention in the early 2000s when he moved to NYC from the West Coast and began playing with artists like Joe Lovano, Mike LeDonne and Esperanza Spalding. In 2022, he made his solo debut with Compton’s Finest.
4:45–5:45pm | Julius Rodriquez
Julius Rodriguez is a rising star at the intersection of jazz, soul, gospel, hip-hop and blues. Rodriguez, who grew up in White Plains, initially grabbed audiences’ attention while touring with A$AP Rocky and working on projects with José James, Madison McFerrin, Kassa Overall, Meshell Ndegeocello, Brasstracks, and others. In 2022, he made his solo debut for Verve Records with Let Sound Tell All. 
6:15–7:15pm | SURPRISE GUEST PERFORMER
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS:
JazzFest White Plains is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.