Jazz at 92NY traces back over a century. It was first mentioned in the 92nd Street Y Bulletin in 1918, when the Jumuly Jazz Band entertained Sergeant Milton Weill and a host of others on Thanksgiving eve and, later, supplied music at the Chanukah festival. Through the 1920s, the 92nd Street Y housed a boy’s glee club and hosted evenings of parlor jazz and, a couple of decades on, notable dance figures including Martha Graham, Pearl Primus and Alvin Ailey collaborated with numerous jazz musicians on the stage of 92NY’s Kaufmann Concert Hall. In 1955, 92NY established jazz as a pillar of its programming by hosting a Modern Jazz Festival featuring jazz giants like Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Art Farmer, as well as a host of others. The sixties welcomed the likes of John Coltrane, Betty Carter, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, and more. In 1985, jazz piano legend Dick Hyman founded Jazz in July, and the modern era of jazz programming at The 92nd Street Y was born. As jazz has evolved as a genre, so has 92NY’s jazz programming – presenting the brightest stars of each subsequent generation, from Bucky Pizzarelli, Marian McPartland and Freddy Cole to Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves and Joshua Redman. The broad nature of Jazz in July’s programming ranges from fresh perspectives on the jazz canon and American Songbook to celebrations of jazz-influenced music from Brazil, Cuba, and more. Featuring the most distinguished artists in jazz today, the festival is also dedicated to showcasing the next generation of jazz talent, presenting artists including Cécile McLorin Salvant, Aaron Diehl, and Samara Joy at the earliest stages of their now major careers.

In celebration of our 150th anniversary year, we’re looking back at the artists and genres who inspired 92NY’s music programming throughout our history. And we’re celebrating singular elements of that programming in a new annual summer festival, Midsummer MusicFest. It all begins with a week of fabulous events celebrating the influence of jazz on other art forms and genres – from musical theater to dance to classical music – leading into two weeks of starry concerts in our beloved Jazz in July festival. Explore the lineup and be part of it all!