2026 Winter JazzFest Marathons: A Survival Guide

For jazz fans who are in New York, when one countdown ends with the Times Square Ball Drop, another one begins—and ends a few days later, when Winter JazzFest officially gets underway with the first downbeat at Le Poisson Rouge .

For 22 years, the festival has been the launch pad of the jazz year in the city. This year's edition will run from January 8 to 13, with a program that spreads across 16 venues and well over 110 concerts—including an offshoot in Tokyo in February and the official festival finale in March with MeShell NdegeOcello—as well as six jazz talks.

Once again, the real frenzy hits during the two marathon nights: in Manhattan on Friday, January 9, and in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 10. That's where the density hits fever pitch—browsing the schedule feels less like scanning a Broadway Playbill before a show and more like plotting a whirlwind vacation through a fat travel guide, bands as destinations, overlaps as missed connections. It's not just about who's playing where and when, but how to stitch it all together. The magic happens where band performances and jazz fans endurance, and savviness, meet. Without a plan, Winter JazzFest might feel less like adventure and more like whiplash; with a good plan, it becomes an exhilarating exercise in sonic discovery through selective commitment.

This is why preparation matters. Navigating such a dense schedule requires a mix of passion, strategy, and stamina, blending love for jazz with practical planning around weather, crowds, and energy levels. Advance listening, venue awareness, realistic pacing, and the acceptance that you cannot hear everything are not optional—they are survival skills. The goal is not to conquer the Winter JazzFest marathons, but to experience them fully enough to still be standing, curious, and hungry for more when the final downbeat arrives.

True to form, we've spent a lot of time breaking down the marathon schedules so you don't have to. But, of course, you're more than welcome to—and if you do, please share your own paths in the comments section.

Below are various suggestions on how to "skin this jazz cat," from logistical strategies to thematic trails. Detailed schedules and venue maps are available at the end of this article.

Finally, always check the Winter JazzFest website for updates, last-minute changes, and the handy crowd watch to avoid swapping a prime spot for a long line. And don't underestimate the small stuff. Just like a real marathon, having energy bars, comfortable footwear, and appropriate clothing—both for the cold weather between venues and the heat inside the clubs, ideally without relying on coat check—can make or break the experience.

And don't forget the mental preparation: whenever you feel like you may not make it all the way to the marathons' finish lines, draw inspiration from artistic director Brice Rosenbloom and his indefatigable team. Your marathon pales in comparison to their year-long ultra-marathon. They managed to pull this off. You can too.

All the Things You Are (Definitely Supposed to Listen to)

The maximalist fantasy scenario: Aiming high is half the fun.

You are not here to pace yourself. You are here to maximize. Lines do not intimidate you; they are simply vertical intermissions, and you never get kind-of-blue-in-the-face. Distance between venues is not an obstacle but a warm-up lap. Your internal clock runs on overlapping set times, and the idea of staying put while something "important" is happening elsewhere triggers a mild existential crisis.

This approach assumes a certain level of physical readiness and mental agility. You are comfortable arriving late, leaving early, and treating sets as chapters rather than complete novels. You understand that hearing the first ten minutes of something extraordinary can be just as satisfying as staying for the encore—especially if it allows you to catch the opening moments of something else equally compelling down the street.

What follows is a carefully calibrated menu for this style of listening: high-yield choices, tight transitions, and a few non-negotiables that justify the sprint, especially when they involve remarkable projects not frequently found on New York stages (e.g. Nels Cline's "Songs from Lovers" arranged and conducted by Michael Leonhart, the Either/Orchestra's take on Ethio-jazz, or the French Jazz annual showcase). Where the clock or geography threatens to undermine your ambitions, priority picks are marked with an asterisk.

Friday, January 9 [Manhattan]

• 6PM. Nels Cline "Songs from Lovers" conducted by Michael Leonhart (Le Poisson Rouge)
• 7:15PM. Patricia Brennan Tentet (Le Poisson Rouge)
• 8PM. John Hébert & The Youngbloods (Close Up)
• 8:30PM. Célia Kameni (The Bitter End)
• 9:15PM. The Hemphill Stringtet (Zinc Bar)
• 10PM. David Virelles' The Singer's Grove (Close Up)
• 10:45PM. Tomas Fujiwara: Dream Up (NuBlu)
• 11:30PM. Daoud (The Bitter End)
• 12:15AM. James Brandon Lewis Trio (Drom)
• 1:30AM. Fonville X Fribush ft. Morgan Burrs with Toribio (Le Poisson Rouge)

Saturday, January 10 [Brooklyn]

• 6PM. The Either/Orchestra (Brooklyn Bowl)
• 7:15PM. Saha Gnawa (Brooklyn Bowl)
• 7:45PM. Alden Hellmuth (Loove Annex)
• 8:45PM. David Binney Action Trio with Pera Krstajic and Louis Cole (Superior Ingredients)*; or 9PM. Carmen Staaf and Sounding Line (Loove Annex)
• 9:30PM. Luke Stewart Silt Trio (Baby's All Right)
• 10PM. Joel Ross (Superior Ingredients); or 10:15PM. Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones with Nick Dunston (Union Pool)*
• 10:45PM. Tomeka Reid Quartet (Baby's All Right)
• 11:15PM. Marcus Gilmore's Journey to the New (National Sawdust ); or 11:30PM. Adam O'Farrill's Elephant (Loove Annex)
• 12:30AM. Anthony Tidd's Quite Sane (Superior Ingredients)
• 1:15AM. Immanuel Wilkins (Baby's All Right)

Take the 'A' Train (Then Stay Put)

The low-mileage, high-yield plan: Designed for listeners who see geographical leaps as distractions, and long waits in the cold as uncivilized afflictions.

You have made peace with the idea that Winter JazzFest cannot be "completed," only experienced. Rather than zigzagging across the city, you choose a venue—or a tightly clustered pair—and treat it as a base camp, knowing that the best listening often happens when the body is settled and the ears are not distracted by logistics. Your position in the room is never accidental. Sightlines, acoustics, and exit routes have all been quietly evaluated, and you know that staying put increases your odds of hearing full sets from an ideal angle you have painstakingly staked out and have no intention of abandoning.

With this approach you catch full sets, chat with strangers, and maybe even sit down. Perfect if the January wind makes you want to hibernate.

There are, of course, practical considerations. Some venues expect a minimum per set, which means that commitment (and fewer taxi fares) may take the form of food and drink if you want to get into Close Up, or if you want to sit at a table at The Bitter End, City Winery, Drom, or Zinc Bar. Pace yourself accordingly, know when leftovers are your friend, and remember that generosity toward staff is not just good etiquette—it is part of the ecosystem. What follows are our recommended strongholds: places where staying in one spot pays dividends over the course of the night, listed in descending order of strategic advantage.

Friday, January 9 [Manhattan]

• Le Poisson Rouge 6PM—2AM. Nels Cline; Patricia Brennan; Takuya Kuroda; Lakecia Benjamin; Braxton Cook; Obed Calvaire: 150 Million Gold Francs; Fonville X Fribush
• The Bitter End 6:30PM—12:30AM. French Quarter showcase: AMG; Mario Canonge Trio; Célia Kameni; GILDAA; The Getdown; Daoud
• Drom 6PM—1AM. Arun Ramamurthy; Amir ElSaffar New Quartet; New Jazz Underground; Ekep Nkwelle; David Murray Quartet; James Brandon Lewis

Best alternative: go for a combo by splitting the evening across two venues—a good compromise between not having to move around too much and retaining some flexibility. To accomplish that, in addition to mixing the concerts from the venues listed above, consider:

• Le Poisson Rouge / Close Up combo. Le Poisson Rouge 6PM—7:45PM: Nels Cline; Patricia Brennan. Then Close Up 8PM—10:40PM: John Hébert; David Virelles. Then back to Le Poisson Rouge 11PM-2AM for Braxton Cook; Obed Calvaire; Fonville X Fribush.
• City Winery / NuBlu combo. City Winery 6:30PM—10:45PM: James Carter Quintet—Trane: A Centennial Supreme; Endea Owens & The Cookout; Tyreek McDole; Lady Blackbird. Then off to NuBlu 10:45PM-1:45AM for Tomas Fujiwara; Shahzad Ismaily; Hanging Hearts.

Saturday, January 10 [Brooklyn]

• Loove Lab [curated by Fully Altered] 6:30PM—12:30AM. Ohad Talmor; Alden Hellmuth; Carmen Staaf; DoYeon Kim; Adam O'Farrill
• Brooklyn Bowl 6PM—1AM. The Either/Orchestra; Saha Gnawa; Annie and the Caldwells; Made Kuti; Pedrito Martinez; Morgan Guerin with Billy Hart
• Union Pool [curated by Dada Strain] 6:30PM—10:30PM. Joy Guidry; Xenia Rubinos; Bex Burch; Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones with Nick Dunston

Best alternatives: do one of these combos:

• Brooklyn Bowl / National Sawdust combo. Brooklyn Bowl 6PM—8:15PM: The Either/Orchestra; Saha Gnawa. Then National Sawdust 8:45PM—12AM: Brandon Ross; Dawn of Midi; Marcus Gilmore.
• Brooklyn Bowl / Superior Ingredients / Baby's All Right. Brooklyn Bowl 6PM—8:15PM: The Either/Orchestra; Saha Gnawa. Then Superior Ingredients 8:45PM—10:20PM: David Binney; Joel Ross. Then wrap up the evening at Baby's All Right 10:45PM—2AM: Tomeka Reid; Instant Alter; Immanuel Wilkins.

World-view Approaches

Many More Voices, Same Bandstand: The representation-as-expectation approach

By now, Winter JazzFest audiences have been trained to notice when something is missing rather than when something is "added." Gender-inclusive programming is no longer a novelty or a talking point—it is part of the festival's DNA. The sizeable presence of women and gender-nonconforming artists across the lineup reflects the current creative landscape, where inclusivity is not the headline but the context.

Friday, January 9 [Manhattan]

• 6:15PM. Civil Disobedience (City Winery Loft)
• 7:15PM. Patricia Brennan Tentet (Le Poisson Rouge); or 7:30PM Sarah Elizabeth Charles (City Winery Loft); or 7:45 Endea Owens (City Winery Main Stage)
• 8PM. Gabrielle Cavassa (Zinc Bar)
• 8:30PM. Célia Kameni (The Bitter End)
• 9:45PM. Lakecia Benjamin (Le Poisson Rouge); or Ekep Nkwelle (Zinc Bar); or 10PM. Veronica Swift (City Winery Loft); or 10:15PM. Lady Blackbird (City Winery Main Stage); or 10:30PM. Laura Anglade (Zinc Bar)

Saturday, January 10 [Brooklyn]

• 6:15PM. Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth SWAY (National Sawdust); or 6:30PM. Joy Guidry (Union Pool)
• 7:45PM. Alden Hellmuth (Loove Annex); or 7:30PM. Sasha Berliner (Superior Ingredients); or 7:45 Xenia Rubinos (Union Pool)
• 8:30PM. Annie and the Caldwells (Brooklyn Bowl)
• 9PM. Carmen Staaf (Loove Annex); or Bex Burch (Union Pool)
• 10:15PM. Amirtha Kidambi (Union Pool); or DoYeon Kim (Loove Annex)
• 10:45PM. Tomeka Reid (Baby's All Right)

Now's the Time

The generational approach

Winter JazzFest does not tuck away emerging artists on secondary stages but places them directly into the flow of the festival—often sharing nights, rooms, and audiences with musicians who have already shaped the form. For listeners who enjoy catching trajectories early—before the narratives harden and expectations settle—these sets offer not just discovery, but a chance to hear where the music is going.

Friday, January 9 [Manhattan]

• 6:30PM. AMG (The Bitter End); or 6:15 Civil Disobedience (City Winery Loft)
• 7PM. Alfredo Colón Sextet (NuBlu)
• 7:45PM. Endea Owens (City Winery Main Stage)
• 8:30PM. New Jazz Underground (Drom)
• 9PM. Tyreek McDole (City Winery Main Stage)
• 9:45PM. Ekep Nkwelle (Drom)
• 10:30PM. Laura Anglade (Zinc Bar)
• 11:15PM. Brandon Woody's Upendo (City Winery Loft)
• 11:45PM. Lex Korten & Canopy (Zinc Bar)
• 1:30AM. Fonville X Fribush (Le Poisson Rouge)

Saturday, January 10 [Brooklyn]

• 7:45PM. Alden Hellmuth (Loove Annex); or 7:30PM. Samora Pinderhughes & Elena Pinderhughes (National Sawdust); or Sasha Berliner (Superior Ingredients); or 7:35 Xenia Rubions (Union Pool); or 8PM. William Tyler, Yasmin Williams (Music Hall Williamsburg)
• 9:30PM. Luke Stewart (Baby's All Right)
• 10PM. Joel Ross (Superior Ingredients); or 10:15 DoYeon Kim (Loove Annex)
• 11:15PM. Marcus Gilmore (National Sawdust)
• 12:15AM. Morgan Guerin (Brooklyn Bowl)

Global Underground

The passport-free approach for soundhounds

Winter JazzFest's schedule can also be read as a fair-trade manifesto: the opportunity for presenters and fans from across the globe to take the pulse of New York's jazz scene is matched by the opportunity for New Yorkers to hear voices shaped far beyond the city's limits. In a touring climate increasingly constrained by logistics, visas, and budgets, the festival becomes an unlikely crossroads: a place where international perspectives briefly and vividly enter the local bloodstream.

This approach is for listeners who enjoy tracing accents, traditions, and aesthetic lineages as much as rare-to-find-on-NYC-stages musicians. Following these geographic threads through the marathon reveals how porous the music remains, even when borders harden. The old spotlighted "city showcases" may ebb and flow from year to year, but the impulse persists: Winter JazzFest still reminds us that jazz never belonged to one place.

From Paris with Love

As per tradition, The Paris Jazz Club will take over The Bitter End and present emerging projects from the French scene:

Friday, January 9 [Manhattan]

• 6:30PM—12:30AM. French Quarter showcase: AMG; Mario Canonge Trio; Célia Kameni; GILDAA; The Getdown; Daoud

Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, LA, etc. with As Much Love

Friday, January 9 [Manhattan]

• 9:30PM. Sam Gendel, Nate Mercereau (NuBlu)
• 11PM. Braxton Cook (Le Poisson Rouge); or 11:15PM. Brandon Woody (City Winery Loft)
• 1:30AM. Fonville X Fribus (Le Poisson Rouge); or 1:15AM. Hanging Hearts (NuBlu)

Saturday, January 10 [Brooklyn]

• 6PM. The Either/Orchestra (Brooklyn Bowl)
• 7:30PM. Samora & Elena Pinderhughes (National Sawdust)
• 8PM. William Tyler, Yasmin Williams (Music Hall Williamsburg)
• 8:45PM. David Binney Action Trio with Pera Krstajic and Louis Cole (Superior Ingredients); or 8:30PM. Annie & The Caldwells (Brooklyn Bowl); or 9PM. Bex Burch (Union Pool)
• 9:45PM. Made Kuti (Brooklyn Bowl); or 10PM. Dawn of Midi (National Sawdust)

Improv Mode

The "in the moment" approach

To some, the idea of meticulously charting a course through Winter JazzFest may feel like a fundamentally misguided way to face a festival dedicated to improvised music. This approach trades spreadsheets for instincts, and advance research for alert ears. You move because something catches your attention, you stay because the room feels right, and you leave because curiosity pulls harder than obligation.

In this mode, the festival itself becomes a kind of performance—one in which you are both soloist and bandleader. Decisions are made in real time, mistakes are part of the form, and discovery often arrives unannounced (typically in the form of a tip from fellow enthusiasts you've just met). Given the depth of the programming, even the most haphazard path is likely to yield memorable moments.

Schedules, Maps, and Reality Checks

Always check the Winter JazzFest website for updates, last-minute changes, and the handy crowd watch to monitor attendance levels at each venue you're thinking of going to. Below are the official marathon schedules at the time of this article's publication.

Friday, January 9: Manhattan Marathon

Saturday, January 10: Brooklyn Marathon

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