Five concerts. Internationally acclaimed artists. The Great American Songbook. And the extraordinary experience of Kleinhans Music Hall.
The start of a new season is always exciting.
When we launched Jazz at Kleinhans, the vision was about more than presenting a series of concerts. We wanted to create a home where jazz, the Great American Songbook, and Buffalo’s own musical legacy could come together at one of America’s great concert halls.
On Sunday, November 8, that journey continues as we begin the 2026–2027 Jazz at Kleinhans season with two-time Grammy-winning vocalist, pianist, songwriter, and arranger Nicole Zuraitis.
And what a season lies ahead.
Five concerts will take us from November through April. Four will offer the intimacy of the Mary Seaton Room. The season will then culminate on the magnificent Kleinhans Main Hall stage with Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves.
Along the way, we’ll experience artists who honor the jazz tradition while continuing to move it forward. We’ll celebrate the Great American Songbook, revisit Buffalo’s remarkable connection to Harold Arlen, experience the joy and swing of the holidays, hear a global perspective on contemporary jazz, and close with two of the most acclaimed artists in jazz celebrating the ballads of John Coltrane.
It Begins With Nicole Zuraitis
Nicole Zuraitis represents much of what we envisioned when creating Jazz at Kleinhans. She is an artist deeply connected to the jazz tradition and the Great American Songbook, but she isn’t simply repeating what came before. She is helping this music continue to evolve.
A two-time Grammy winner, Zuraitis is a vocalist, pianist, songwriter, and arranger whose music moves naturally between jazz, songwriting, and contemporary interpretations of song. She arrives in Buffalo following the release of her ambitious 20-track album, The Devil I Knew, and growing national attention for an artistry that is distinctly her own.
On November 8, we’ll have the opportunity to experience that artistry in one of the settings that makes Jazz at Kleinhans so special — the intimacy of the Mary Seaton Room.
Christmas at Birdland Comes to Buffalo
The season continues on Sunday, December 6, with Swinging in the Holidays, featuring the Champian Fulton Trio with Grammy winner Carmen Bradford and acclaimed vocalist Vanessa Perea.
This performance brings together several generations of Great American Songbook artistry.
Champian Fulton has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with New York City’s legendary Birdland Jazz Club, where her Christmas-week performances have become a holiday tradition. Carmen Bradford provides a direct connection to one of the defining eras of jazz, having been personally selected by Count Basie and spending nine years as a featured vocalist with the Count Basie Orchestra.
Together with Vanessa Perea, they bring the songs, swing, and warmth of the holiday season to Kleinhans.
And with a special 2 PM start, there will be plenty of time to enjoy an afternoon of holiday jazz before the 4:30 Bills game.
Celebrating Buffalo’s Harold Arlen
On February 7, Ann Hampton Callaway takes the stage as we continue what has become an important Jazz at Kleinhans tradition — our annual celebration of Buffalo-born composer Harold Arlen.
Now in its third year, the Harold Arlen Celebration is about more than remembering one of Buffalo’s most important contributions to American music. It is about keeping that legacy alive.
Arlen gave the world some of the most enduring songs in the Great American Songbook. Callaway, one of today’s celebrated interpreters of that Songbook, gives us an opportunity to hear those songs anew while celebrating a musical story that began right here in Buffalo.
A Global Perspective With Alfredo Rodríguez
On March 14, internationally acclaimed Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez brings his trio to the Mary Seaton Room.
Virtuosic, rhythmic, and deeply expressive, Rodríguez brings a global musical perspective to Jazz at Kleinhans and another dimension to a season built around both tradition and evolution.
His appearance also reflects something important about jazz itself. This is music with deep American roots that has become a global language, continually shaped and renewed by artists and cultures around the world.
A Main Hall Finale
Then comes April 22.
After four intimate performances in the Mary Seaton Room, Jazz at Kleinhans moves into the Kleinhans Main Hall for a special season finale with Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves.
Two of the most acclaimed artists in jazz come together to celebrate the ballads of John Coltrane.
There is something fitting about ending the season this way. The Kleinhans Main Hall has welcomed many of the defining figures in jazz throughout its history. On April 22, another chapter will be added to that history.
And it brings the arc of this Jazz at Kleinhans season to its largest stage.
Jazz at Kleinhans 2026–2027
Nicole Zuraitis Quartet
Sunday, November 8 | 3:00 PM
Mary Seaton Room
Swinging in the Holidays
Champian Fulton Trio featuring Carmen Bradford and Vanessa Perea
Sunday, December 6 | 2:00 PM
Mary Seaton Room
Ann Hampton Callaway Celebrates Harold Arlen
Sunday, February 7 | 3:00 PM
Mary Seaton Room
Alfredo Rodríguez Trio
Sunday, March 14 | 3:00 PM
Mary Seaton Room
Branford Marsalis & Dianne Reeves — Celebrate the Ballads of John Coltrane
Thursday, April 22 | 7:00 PM
Kleinhans Main Hall
A Season to Experience
One of the things we continue to believe about Jazz at Kleinhans is that the experience matters.
It is the artist. It is the music. But it is also being inside Kleinhans, sharing the performance with others, and experiencing this music in a place that has been part of Buffalo’s cultural life for generations.
That’s what we’re continuing to build.
Season subscriptions are available for the four Mary Seaton Room performances, providing an opportunity to experience all four while saving with a season subscription. Individual tickets are available for all five concerts.
Jazz at Kleinhans is presented by JazzBuffalo and Kleinhans Music Hall.
The Sound of Jazz. The Power of Song. The Pride of Buffalo.
Explore the complete season at JazzAtKleinhans.org.
(And there’s still time to save with a four-concert season package for the Mary Seaton Room performances. Click here: Explore Season Subscriptions.)
