Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience 2026

Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience 2026
Aspen, Colorado
June 26-27, 2026

When nourishing the soul, it is important to consume a balanced diet. Failure to draw from a wide array of musical genres can lead to ennui, shallow breathing and excessive television watching. A properly tuned soul can be an ephemeral thing, but the appropriate application of music originating in different times, different places and different astral planes can keep the soul sated and fully charged.

An extra dimension of soul tuning and recharging is context, both macro and micro. The venue, i.e., the joint, can enhance or detract from the process. And what happens when you walk out the door can catalyze the entire experience. Therefore, if you put great music in a great room situated in a picturesque location, you end up with nothing short of a feast.

The Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience has been serving gluttons, or, I should say, connoisseurs of soul nourishment for 37 years now. The top-drawer music is served in a variety of tasty venues, all set in the Victorian mining town of Aspen, surrounded by majestic peaks.

The venues ranged from the elegant Wheeler Opera House, circa 1889, to a rooftop venue with spectacular views, to a hotel bar/lobby, to sweaty basement joints. JAS is a smorgasbord, allowing the soul seeker to sample a small bite or tuck in for a full meal. Although the musical offerings are displayed vaguely like a buffet, this is no Furr's Cafeteria. It's Aspen, after all!

The music was presented at ten different venues in downtown Aspen, all within easy walking distance of each other. Many performances took place simultaneously, making it impossible for even those with the most ravenous appetites to consume everything. Choices. It is good to have choices. But sometimes those choices were difficult. The good news was that there were no bad choices. Everything was delicious.

Friday, June 26

Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt-a-Whirl Band

The first sustenance stop was to load up on one of the nutritional essentials; namely Vitamin B Flat. The blues, of course, is the foundation of the soul food pyramid. All the other musical styles offered during the JAS June Experience were built on the blues.

Jimmie Vaughan is a veteran bluesman, having first come to prominence as a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds in the late 1970s. He is also the older brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Now 75 years old, Vaughan brought his Tilt-A-Whirl Band to the Wheeler Opera House for a single set.

Besides Vaughan on vocals and guitar, the band featured a second guitarist, drummer, acoustic bassist and the Texas Horns consisting of trumpet, tenor sax and baritone sax. His brother, Stevie Ray, was known for fiery playing and guitar heroics. Friday night, Jimmie's playing, on the other hand, was more measured with easy-to-follow melodic lines. This contrast was most apparent on "Texas Flood," a song his brother also played and which was the title track of his first album. Jimmie Vaughan's voice reflected both his age and the world-weary bluesman he is.

Vaughan was a host of few words, inquiring a couple of times about whether we felt good and explaining, twice, that "It's good to be back." All good things to know.

The set list included some Vaughan originals such as "No One To Talk To (But the Blues)" as well as some blues standards such as "Just a Little Bit" and "Scratch My Back." The former, coming about six songs into the set, livened things up considerably with its syncopated rhythm and danceable beat. One of his slower songs started off sounding like Neil Hefti's "Girl Talk" but quickly morphed into more standard blues territory. It was, however, a bit of foreshadowing for later musical courses. After the bulk of the set, it was time to dip into another staple of the musical diet, namely straight-ahead jazz.

Christian McBride Trio

Christian McBride and his trio were playing at the Limelight Hotel, about a block and a half from the Wheeler. In contrast to the historic Opera House, the Limelight is a modern hotel which opened in 2008, replacing an older hotel named the "Limelite," which, while more decrepit than the current iteration, was also much less expensive. The trio was set up in a back conference room that proved a bit too small given the crowd eating up the state-of-the-art jazz.

The band was cooking at a full boil when I arrived and was serving up some fine sounds, specifically, Neil Hefti's other well-known song, "Lil' Darlin,'" providing an excellent palate segue between the two bands.

In contrast to the taciturn Vaughan, McBride was a real chatterbox. That should not be surprising because, among other things, McBride is a radio guy, hosting "Jazz Night in America" on NPR. He is also the conductor of the JAS Academy Big Band, which would perform on Saturday night. And, of course, he is also a killer bassist. He was joined Friday night by Benny Green on piano and Gregory Hutchinson on drums for a tribute to the great bassist Ray Brown. McBride talked about the JAS Academy and its scholarship program, which brings the country's best high school jazz players together for two weeks in Aspen, culminating in a concert with jazz luminaries.

He also talked about Ray Brown and how, as a bassist, he even played in the same band with him, SuperBass. Two bass players were not enough for that band; they were joined by another extraordinary bassist, John Clayton. Their 1997 album featured, not coincidentally, Benny Green and Greg Hutchinson.

The playing was, of course, top-notch. These three are among the absolute best at their instruments in the straight-ahead jazz genre. The trio format is famous for not allowing any band member to hide in the background. All three were on top of the game, whether comping or soloing.

The delicious music slid down the hatch easily, but more blues were calling from the other side of town, so I hoofed it the six blocks to the W Hotel for Ally Venable. I found out the next day that shortly after I left the McBride Trio, both Joshua Redman and Marcus Strickland turned up with their horns and wedged themselves onto the tiny stage for an improvised jam session. But those two weren not on the menu! Oh, the dark side of jazz improvisation...

Ally Venable

The W Hotel is even newer than the current Limelight, having opened for business in August 2019. Like the Limelight, the W does not have an official concert room or stage, so Venable was set up in the lobby/bar. The result was that the band was almost part of the audience. Or maybe vice versa. Either way, Venable fans who liked to get close to the action could do so with no problem.

At 27, Venable has been on the blues scene for at least a decade, having released her first album in 2016. She is known for her explosive guitar playing, in the mold of Stevie Ray Vaughan, impassioned vocals, short skirts and thigh-high boots. Venable rocked the W on Friday night and her blues rock could be heard a block or two away.

Venable played the Blues From the Top Festival in Winter Park, Colorado in 2024 in a trio format. Friday night at the W, she had a band twice that size, having added two horns and a keyboard player. The horns punctuated her vocals on many of the songs and they took turns with Venable's Gibson Les Paul soloing on top of the shuffling and chunky blues foundation.

In 2023, Venable released a song she recorded with Buddy Guy named "Texas Louisiana" about the home states of the two blues players. She played that one Friday night after explaining how excited she was to have been invited to play at Buddy Guy's 90th birthday party in late July.

The Paul JAS Center

The newest venue serving up musical treats is also the most significant for Jazz Aspen Snowmass. The Paul JAS Center opened in December 2025; this is the first JAS June festival where the facility hosted some of the concerts. The center uses part of the space formerly occupied by the Red Onion bar, a long-time landmark in downtown Aspen that had operated continuously from 1892 until just a few years ago. The bar started life as a favorite watering hole for area miners and eventually morphed into a favorite for ski instructors and skiers in general. It also hosted music over the years, including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and John Denver, who worked out his then-new song "Rocky Mountain High," which is now one of two Colorado State Songs. (The other Colorado State Song is "Where the Columbines Grow" about an attractive flower, but it has no known psychoactive qualities.)

The Red Onion was on the ground floor, but the performance space at the Paul JAS Center is on the second floor. It is a state-of-the-art facility that also includes instructional spaces and a recording studio. The concert hall portion of the center accommodates 150 to 300 listeners, depending on the seating configuration. Friday night, it was the site of a funk frenzy.

The Family Stone

The Family Stone is a band dedicated to performing the music of Sly and the Family Stone and keeping it alive and funky. Very funky. The band maintains family connections to the original band. Vocalist Phunne Stone is the daughter of Sly Stone and original Family Stone trumpeter Cynthia Robinson. The original sax man, Jerry Martini, now 83, is also in the band. Besides those two, the band included guitar, bass, drums and two keyboard players. Everyone in the band sang.

To someone growing up in the 60s and early 70s and listening to Top 40 radio, this concert boogied down memory lane. Just about every song the band played had been burned deep into my brain. "Simple Song," "Everyday People," "Dance to the Music," "Hot Fun in the Summertime," "Family Affair" and, of course, "I Want to Take You Higher." And the ultimate closer was, as lead singer Swang Stewart declared, "the funkiest tune ever set to wax, 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).'" This material, as performed by this band, absolutely demanded that no one sit and listen. Everyone was on their feet, dancing, boogieing, partying and celebrating these classic hits throughout the entire set. And the band performed these classic tunes to perfection. 

The 2026 version of the Family Stone continues a tradition that Sly Stone started, namely a diversity of band members: black, white, male, female; all enshrined in the song "Everyday People." Stone was one of the first to integrate a popular music band in that manner, decades before anyone ever heard of "DEI." The band also carried on the tradition of the original band's era, urging everyone to practice peace and love.

Normally, after packing in a meal of that magnitude, it would be a challenge to simply waddle home. But wait! Karl Denson's Tiny Universe was playing only a block and a half away! Well... there is always room for dessert.

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

By the time the Stone Family had finally exhausted (almost) everyone, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe still had about two-thirds of their set ahead of them. This show was at the Belly Up, a long-standing Aspen nightclub, purpose-built for live music. Many years ago, the venue was known as the Double Diamond, which is a rating for the steepest, most difficult ski runs. But the Belly Up welcomes experts, intermediates and beginners alike.

The Tiny Universe has been playing the funk for over a quarter century now. Funk is not the entire description for this band. Its other major influence is that of the jam band. One aspect of that is the band's tendency to cover well-known songs. One of those covers Friday night was "I Can't Stand the Rain," performed in a completely different style, not really sounding like the usual version except for the lyrics.

The band sounds a little like the Crusaders, with twin horns up front, backed by an ever-funky rhythm section. The Crusaders used a saxophone and trombone up front. The Tiny Universe has a trumpeter next to Denson who plays tenor and alto sax as well as flute. The Crusaders were predominantly an instrumental band, only occasionally bringing in a guest vocalist. While the Tiny Universe has many instrumentals in its book, it also uses vocals frequently. Denson himself sings regularly and, for the current tour, the Tiny Universe, somewhat like its bigger counterpart (The Universe), has expanded by adding another vocalist in the form of Danielle Barker.

Denson commented on current events late in the show, urging the audience to stand up for the Constitution. And it would not hurt to read it, either, he said. He expressed concern for his own personal safety as a citizen with dark skin. But, he said, the solution was for everyone to stick together.

Saturday, June 27

After a night like that one, it might be tempting to swear that you do not need to eat again for a week. But another great smorgasbord beckoned and the only rational response was to answer the call. Even before the day's banquet was to begin at 5:30, the chefs announced a schedule change, throwing carefully laid plans into disarray. The Robert Cray Band, originally set to play at 5:30 at the Wheeler, would, instead, begin at 7:30. But with the JAS format, a challenge like that can easily lead to a silver lining. In this case, but for that schedule change, I may not have caught Vincen Garcia's set.

Vincen Garcia

Garcia and his band were set up on the roof of the Aspen Art Museum, about three stories above street level. The bandstand was covered by a roof, as were most of the seats. But the back of the area was open to the sky with remarkable views of Aspen Mountain Ski Area (a/k/a "Ajax") looming over the venue.

Garcia plays bass and he and his band play a frenetic form of fusion. To say Garcia is a virtuoso gives him too little credit. He plays so fast, it is difficult to understand how a non-augmented human could play faster. In fact, if he played any faster, it would run the risk of turning the music into an indistinct blur; sort of the musical equivalent of eating so fast you give yourself indigestion.

But it was a kick listening to him and watching him prowl around the stage with the evident joy of creating some remarkable sounds. Not surprisingly, the chops of his band were on a par with the leader's. The band's saxophone and trumpet players operated as a unit, punching short, tight unison lines and constantly and quickly shifting as the music demanded and sometimes laying down their own solos. The guitarist alternatively soloed and doubled complex lines with Garcia.

Garcia is from Valencia, Spain and he explained that this was his first tour of the United States and his first time in Aspen. Based on this debut performance, it seems likely that U.S. audiences will be hearing more from Garcia in the future.

The Robert Cray Band

Next, it was back to the Wheeler Opera House for the delayed performance of the Robert Cray Band. Cray, like Jimmie Vaughan, is a veteran blues man. He and his four-piece band (counting him) put on a show of mostly songs Cray has recorded over the years.

One of those songs was particularly apropos, entitled "Aspen, Colorado." Written by Tony Joe White, Cray had recorded it for his album Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm (Jay-Vee Records, 2017). The song is about a man knocking around the Southeastern United States, trying to find a place to fit in. The first line of the song is "I was born into the simple life." Later in the song, the hero says he might go to Aspen because "I hear it's fine." Maybe when he wrote this, White was going for irony, because there is nothing simple about Aspen. The cost of living rivals the heights of the nearby 14,000-foot peaks. Skiing, the main attraction, is anything but simple with all the equipment and expensive lift tickets. Then, there is the matter of fitting in with the locals. Required accessories include $1,000 cowboy boots, fur coats, plenty of makeup and extensive "work" on any body parts that may be starting to sag, wrinkle or are simply the wrong proportion to reflect the outdoorsy Aspen lifestyle. Oh well, how many artists play this song or any other song about Aspen?

Another song that Cray attempted to fit into the locality was "I Don't Care" from the same album. That song is about a jilted lover who loses interest in everything. "I don't care if the sun don't shine no more/I don't care if the world falls off the globe." Cray apparently improvised some lyrics to include the line, "I don't care if there's no snow in the mountains." Wait a minute! Colorado just came off the lowest snow year and worst ski season on record! Poor form. Well, at least no one charged the stage demanding a retraction.

Cray is particular about his guitar sound, changing axes on just about every song. His long-time bassist, Richard Cousins, changed his instrument almost as often, maintaining an arsenal of three spare basses by his side throughout the show.

Cray's big hit was "Strong Persuader," and he saved it for nearly the end of the show. While the bulk of his songs used recipes very similar to what he had cooked up on the album versions, "Strong Persuader" deviated from that pattern toward the end of the song. The tempo slowed and Cray then pled innocence for breaking up the couple next door. In a surprise move, he turned around and accused his drummer, Les Falconer, of being the one who had tempted his next-door neighbor into infidelity. Falconer took it in stride and continued to drum on.

JAS All Stars with Kurt Elling and Lizz Wright

I left Cray a few minutes before he ended so I could scamper the block and a half to the Paul JAS Center to get a good seat for the JAS Academy Big Band conducted by Christian McBride, featuring Kurt Elling and Lizz Wright. This time, McBride was not limited to just talking about his band, but he could show it off. He reiterated that many, if not most, of the college-age players performing Saturday evening would probably be having an impact in the jazz world in the near future. Past graduates include Jon Batiste, Ben Williams, Gerald Clayton, Christian Sands and Marcus Strickland, who was in the audience.

McBride has been involved in the JAS Academy since 2000. The concept is to bring together the most promising young jazz players from around the country. The Academy provides a full scholarship, including transportation and room and board for the two-week program. This year's big band session ran during the second half of June. Another session runs in late July and early August and will be an Afro-Cuban big band directed by Etienne Charles.

Saturday night, the band started with "Squatty Roo" from theDuke Ellington book, followed by a portion of a McBride original entitled "Cold Chicken Suite" named after the most common food fare foisted upon touring musicians. We heard the second movement. Then it was time for a vocalist. But it was not one of the big stars, but rather Kyra Cioffi, who was part of the Academy band. She sang "I Just Found Out About Love." Next up was Kurt Elling, who sang another Ellington tune and followed that with "Lil' Darling" (Neil Hefti again!). Time for another instrumental, this time Thermo by Freddie Hubbard. McBride said he had played that tune when he was in Hubbard's band. After the song, McBride said he thought Freddie would have approved of this band's scorching version. Lizz Wright got the nod next for two tunes, "Afro Blue" and "Walk With Me, Lord."

Cioffi came back for "Ain't No Way," a song written by Carolyn Franklin and popularized by her sister Aretha Franklin. Those are some big high heels to fill, but Cioffi belted out a truly soulful version. In what was now becoming a revolving door, Elling returned to the stage for Rogers and Hart's "You Are Too Beautiful." Lizz Wright was back for one more with "No More Will We Run." The set wrapped up with Killer Joe and three vocalists, Cioffi, McBride and Josefina Mendez, a vocalist from Argentina who settled in the Aspen area 25 years ago. 

Needless to say, the band was professional grade. After two weeks of rehearsals, the members operated as a single unit. The chemistry was also obvious with the players pushing and encouraging each other during solos. Speaking of which, just about every musician had a turn in the spotlight and everyone laid down intricate, powerful and soulful solos.

And so, after another soul-satisfying meal that could have been sufficient all by itself, JAS offered still more! Like the prior evening, the funk was going down a mere block and a half away at the Belly Up. This time, Cory Henry and Funk Apostles were the designated funksters.

Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles

Whereas Karl Denson's Tiny Universe incorporates hefty helpings of jam band flavors in its funky dishes, Cory Henry and Funk Apostles, as the band's name implies, stirs in ample quantities of gospel music. Indeed, Henry won a Grammy award in 2025 in the category of Best Roots Gospel Album for Church (Culture Collective, 2024). The mix of influences does not end there. Henry and his apostles also season their recipes with the blues, soul, R&B, Afrobeat and jazz. Henry's past musical associations reflect that eclectic mix. He has performed with Kenny Garrett, P Diddy, Bruce Springsteen, the Roots and was a member of Snarky Puppy.

Henry plays keyboards, so he set up his Hammond B-3 organ at the front of the stage so he could get as close as possible to the audience as the bulky organ would allow. His impassioned and soulful vocals created a deep connection with the audience. And the deeply funky band kept the audience moving and grooving throughout the set.

The band is a septet with bass, drums, guitar, another keyboard and two additional singers. Together, this unit set up groove after groove, creating a Saturday night dance party. One tune that put a fine point on the gospel funk and summed up the band's outlook on life, music and live performance was "Holy Ghost." Sample lyrics: "I'll tell you about something/Make you move, make you want to dance (yeah)... It's burning in my heart/I said it's way down in my soul (good God)/Can't hold back this feeling/Think I'm 'bout to lose control/Lose control of the holy ghost." The trance-inducing one-chord jam during the extended ending could send both devout and secular dancers into an alternative form of consciousness. With the Funk Apostles churning out an irresistible rhythm, this sort of thing could work equally well for a Sunday morning tent revival or a Saturday night dance party.

Henry also touched on more secular topics with songs like "Happy Days" and "Just Got Paid." The band treated all of these as further opportunities to grab the audience and force them to move, voluntarily or not. The enthusiasm was irrepressible, prompting the band to extend its concert well past the stated end time of 11:15, to somewhere much closer to midnight.

Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles' overtime performance was a fitting ending to two days of soul-satisfying music. Only a professional pessimist would fret over the missed bands and lost opportunities, such as the Christian McBride Trio's special guests. The rest of us could bask in the glow of a full belly and a completely recharged soul that only the immersion in such a wide variety of music over two days can provide.