Inaugural Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025
Features National Touring Jazz Stars Jason Moran, Paula West,
Sasha Berliner w/ Paul Cornish, Edward Simon of SFJAZZ Collective, and More!
4 Special Days in Wine Country from January 30 – February 2, 2025
What The Media Is Saying About Healdsburg Jazz Festival
“one of the best small jazz festivals in the country if not the world.”
-San Francisco Chronicle
“…the festival has retained its homegrown feel while still pulling in jazz’s biggest names.”
-KQED
“Best Places to Travel: Healdsburg, Calif. / Located 45 miles north of San Francisco in Sonoma Wine Country…Healdsburg Jazz Festival is planned for [June 15-23, 2024” -Travel & Leisure
“Over the past decades, the annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival has established a national reputation for drawing top jazz talents to Sonoma County while maintaining an intimate small-town atmosphere.”
-Santa Rosa Press Democrat
“All Killer, No Filler.” -DownBeat Magazine
Sonoma County’s premier jazz presenter Healdsburg Jazz announces a brand-new winter festival in the heart of Northern California’s internationally-renowned wine country with the inaugural Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025. Taking place from January 30 – February 2, 2025, Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025 features an array of today’s top-performing jazz artists shaping the future of the genre. Held in intimate Healdsburg music venues, boutique hotels and acclaimed Sonoma County wineries and restaurants, Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025 is a one-in-a-kind destination festival held amongst the picturesque Sonoma hills and valleys while the mustard fields are in full bloom and world-class wineries host visitors in their off-season with exceptional hospitality. The Healdsburg Jazz Festival is under the direction of lauded composer/bassist Marcus Shelby.
Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025 presents shows in warm and cozy settings with rare performances with intimate audiences. Ranging in venues from the Montage Healdsburg‘s ballroom, majestic Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate, the Spoonbar inside the H2Hotel, Paul Mahder Gallery and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the winter edition of their renowned summer festival includes headliners Jason Moran Plays Ellington; Paula West Quartet; Sasha Berliner & Paul Cornish (special luncheon concert); Edward Simon Trio; Stella Heath Swings Ella Fitzgerald; and Harlem of the West Jazz Party with pianists Tammy Hall and Darrell Grant, bassists Marcus Shelby and Amina Scott, vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, drummers Lorca Hart & Akira Tana, powerhouse vocalists Jamie Davis, Tiffany Austin, and Stella Heath, poet Enid Pickett and writer Lewis Watts (co-author of the seminal oral history Harlem of the West).
“2025 marks the 27th anniversary of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and will be my 5th year as artistic director,” says Marcus Shelby, Artistic Director of Healdsburg Jazz Festival. “To kick things off, we are thrilled to launch our first-ever Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest as we celebrate Black History Month with nationally acclaimed artists as well as some of the SF Bay Area’s top up-and-coming artists. We pride ourselves on presenting musically, artistically, and culturally diverse programming throughout Healdsburg’s incredibly beautiful wineries, public spaces, clubs, and theaters. Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest is a destination, where people can come and experience all that the festival and region have to offer. Though smaller than our summer festival, Winter Fest is still mighty with unbelievably talented artists that’ll certainly bring world-class entertainment to the North Bay. We look forward to having jazz fans from across the state travel to experience all that Healdsburg has to offer.”
Confirmed Artists @ Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025
A wave of brilliant Latin American musicians has transformed the U.S. jazz scene in recent decades, and Venezuelan-born pianist/composer Edward Simon has been in its vanguard. The longest-serving member of the SFJAZZ Collective, he is an extravagantly lyrical improviser at his most unfettered in a trio setting. For this festival opening concert at Paul Mahder Gallery on January 30, he is joined by the rhythm section tandem of Reuben Rogers, bassist of choice for NEA Jazz Masters such as Dianne Reeves, Joshua Redman, Charles Lloyd, and drummer Adam Cruz, a consummate accompanist and Simon compatriot since the mid-1990s. They’re focusing on material from the pianist’s forthcoming album, Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2.
Hailed by JazzTimes as “the finest jazz-cabaret singer around,” Paula West appears with Adam Shulman (piano), Aaron Germain (bass), and Leon Joyce, Jr. (drums) at Spoonbar in H2Hotel on January 31. West is renowned for her vocal work around the edges of a melody, stretching a word here or clipping a phrase there so that each piece sounds as if it was written with her voice in mind. Adding to her allure is West’s reputation as a song sleuth who has uncovered startlingly effective jazz vehicles amidst the works of Sonny Bono, Jimmy Webb, and the Rolling Stones. At this time of political upheaval and division, Paula West looks back to these uniquely American expressions of passion and protest with humor, swing, and romance — showing them to be as relevant today as the day they were written. Renowned for its craft cocktails, Spoonbar includes with each show ticket a special jazz-inspired cocktail or glass of wine.
Healdsburg Jazz kicks off Black History Month with a grand Jazz Party in honor of San Francisco’s Fillmore District, which was known in the mid-20th century as the Harlem of the West, due to its wee-hours nightlife fueled by numerous jazz and blues clubs. This rollicking four-hour non-stop celebration at Paul Mahder Gallery on February 1 features a talent-packed cast of special guest artists in various group formats that will include poetry, photography, art, and lots of hard-swinging music. With KSCM DJ Greg Bridges serving as host and emcee, the players will include pianists Tammy Hall and Darrell Grant, bassists Marcus Shelby and Amina Scott, vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, drummers Lorca Hart & Akira Tana, powerhouse vocalists Jamie Davis, Tiffany Austin, and Stella Heath, poet Enid Pickett and writer Lewis Watts (co-author of the seminal oral history Harlem of the West).
Stella Heath is a San Francisco Bay Area vocalist known for creating/performing such programs as “The Billie Holiday Project,” “Stella Meets Nat,” “Unsung Standards: Lesser-Known Gems of the Great American Songbook,” and “From Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf.” Stella now takes on the repertoire of Ella Fitzgerald in her new program “Stella Swings Ella,” which she will perform at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on February 1. Stella’s all-star band includes Neil Fontano (piano), Ian Scherer (guitar), Daniel Fabricant (bass), Robby Elfman (saxophone/clarinet), and Spike Klein (drums).
One of the brightest lights amidst a transformative generation of vibraphonists, San Francisco-reared Sasha Berliner was only 21 when she was named the 2020 Downbeat Critics’ Poll winner of the “Rising Star – Vibraphone” category. Since then, she’s earned renown for her work as a bandleader who makes canny use of electronics and as a sidewoman with leading artists such as Cécile McLorin Salvant and Ben Williams. For this duo concert, she’s joined by the exceptional young L.A. pianist Paul Cornish, who’s been on the road in recent months with saxophone stars Joshua Redman and Immanuel Wilkins. Sasha Berliner & Paul Cornish will perform a special Luncheon Concert at Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate on February 2.
Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025 closes with a solo concert by internationally renowned Jason Moran, the current Director of Jazz for the Kennedy Center and a McArthur Genius Award Winner. The Houston native is an intellectual force deeply engaged with the cultural forces that have shaped and fed jazz’s evolution. Moran has toured and recorded with masters of the form, including Charles Lloyd, Bill Frisell, and the late Sam Rivers while also leading his own trio, the Band Wagon, one of the era’s definitive groups. His thrilling solo performances encompass a century of innovation, revealing the soulful sinew connecting Harlem stride piano, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Andrew Hill.
At Montage, Hazel Hill Restaurant hosts a special prix fixe Healdsburg Jazz Dinner for pre and post-show diners (reservations recommended), while Scout Hill Bar features artisanal cocktails for guests.
From north of the Golden Gate Bridge all the way to the Oregon border, Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025 is the place to truly experience an intimate jazz festival committed to hosting celebrated artists on venerable stages with the culinary and wine excellence of Sonoma County within arms-reach. Stay tuned to healdsburgjazz.org.
MAJOR Festival Sponsors: Healdsburg Chamber/Stay Healdsburg, H2Hotel, Montage Healdsburg, Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate.
Healdsburg Jazz Winter Fest 2025
When: January 30 – February 2, 2025
Where: Downtown Healdsburg, Calif.
Admission: www.healdsburgjazz.org
More Info: www.healdsburgjazz.org
About Healdsburg Jazz Festival
The Healdsburg Jazz Festival is a celebration of the indigenous American art form known as Jazz. Over the past 27 years, the festival has become a favorite local tradition with a growing national and international reputation. The 9-day festival of public performances by world-renowned musicians in diverse settings including Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens, Bacchus Landing, Michel-Schlumberger Winery, Healdsburg Plaza, the glamorous Hotel Healdsburg and h2hotel, and historic theaters, nightclubs and other unique settings such as Spoonbar, The Raven Theater, Elephant In The Room, St. Paul’s Church, Healdsburg Library, and the Healdsburg Farmer’s Market, has grown into one of the North Bay’s most celebrated annual musical events.
In addition to the annual festival, held in June each year, the non-profit 501(c)(3) organization sponsors numerous music education programs in Healdsburg area schools for primary and secondary school students, and presents a series of Jazz Masters concerts throughout the year.
For more information, please visit: www.healdsburgjazz.org
Media release and image provided by Jesse P. Cutler, JP Cutler Media.
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