Acclaimed Jewish musician and jazz legend Fred Hersch will headline the closing night of the Denver Jazz Fest in 2026, marking the culmination of a partnership that began more than two years ago at the Mizel Arts & Culture Center (MACC). That partnership took shape when MACC Executive Director Stephanie Herm was first contacted by festival co-producers Don Lucoff and David Froman about the possibility of hosting the festival in the Elaine Wolf Theatre. They immediately recognized the MACC as a natural home for jazz, culture, and community, and Stephanie was intrigued by the vision. Following the festival’s inaugural launch in 2025, the MACC was secured as a key venue in 2026—bringing the citywide celebration of jazz to a powerful close with Hersch’s performance.
Since its launch, Denver Jazz Fest has quickly grown into a citywide celebration of jazz, education, and creative expression. By selecting the MACC as the venue for its grand finale, the festival underscores the JCC’s role as a gathering place where world-class artistry and meaningful community connection meet.
At the heart of Denver Jazz Fest is David Froman, co-producer and president of Gift of Jazz, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing jazz education and performance. A lifelong musician and educator, Froman has spent decades nurturing Denver’s jazz ecosystem—bringing live performances into schools, supporting emerging artists, and ensuring jazz remains accessible to new audiences. His partnership with Don Lucoff, whose résumé includes leadership roles with premier international jazz festivals, blends national reach with deep local roots.
That combination has fueled rapid growth. The inaugural 2025 festival welcomed more than 8,300 attendees across 30 performances in just four days. In 2026, the festival expands to 40 shows over six days, activating venues throughout the city—from concert halls and schools to culturally significant spaces across Denver. The intent is clear: jazz is for everyone.
The festival runs April 7–12, culminating in a closing-night performance at the MACC featuring legendary jazz pianist Fred Hersch. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and expressive artists in contemporary jazz, Hersch brings an intimate, reflective sound that perfectly suits the Elaine Wolf Theatre. A New York–based artist who records for ECM Records, he is known for deeply personal compositions and interactive trio performances. As The New York Times writes, “A master who plays it his way.”
Hosting this finale at the JCC is about more than a single performance. It reflects the JCC’s broader commitment to arts, culture, and lifelong learning—and its role as a welcoming space where diverse communities come together through shared experiences. Jazz, with its roots in improvisation, dialogue, and connection, aligns powerfully with that mission.
Education remains central to the festival’s purpose. Through partnerships with MSU Denver’s Jazz Studies program, Denver Jazz Fest offers free clinics led by renowned educator Rodney Whitaker, opening doors for aspiring musicians and reinforcing jazz as a living, evolving art form. This year’s programming also honors the centennial of jazz icons Miles Davis and John Coltrane, celebrating their enduring influence on music and culture.
At its core, Denver Jazz Fest is about connection—between artists and audiences, generations, traditions, and ideas. By hosting the festival’s closing night, the Mizel Arts & Culture Center and the JCC invite the community to experience that connection firsthand, in a setting designed to inspire, engage, and bring people together.
An Evening with the Fred Hersch Trio
April 12, 2026 • 7:00 PM
Artist Q&A
Interview conducted by Don Lucoff
1. You typically don’t come through Colorado very often, do you recall the last couple of times you have performed in Denver?
I’m pretty sure the last few times I’ve played in Denver have been at Dazzle which was very enjoyable.
2. You have had a couple of monumental occasions in 2025, your 70th birthday this past October, and 40th anniversary of your AIDS diagnosis. How are you feeling physically and spiritually?
Despite experiencing numerous health challenges over the last four decades, I’m doing extremely well and have plenty of energy. Really enjoying playing music! Grateful to be able to spread a bit of joy in these challenging times and have a lot of fun myself. I do have an ongoing insight, meditation practice for almost 30 years and that helps keep me grounded every day. I do think about all the people who I knew who passed from AIDS and wonder what they would be doing with their lives had they not been taken from us. I’m extremely fortunate to have a loving partner and excellent medical care. Feeling grateful for sure!
3. You are a big proponent of attending compositional retreats. How does that setting inspire you differently than other environments that you have composed in over time?
I have been a 10-time resident at MacDowell, the artist residency in Peterborough NH. It was there that I composed my setting of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” for Kurt Elling, Kate McGarry and an instrumental octet; and “My Coma Dreams,” a multimedia jazz/theater piece based on a series of dreams I recalled after a two-month coma in 2008. And numerous jazz tunes, some classical piano music and chamber music. The residencies lasted four to six weeks and it was very stimulating to be around creative artists from many genres, share meals with them, see/hear their work and have a great deal of fun. During my time there, I gained lifelong friends and collaborators and insight into how others create.
4. After many years with Palmetto, Nonesuch and Sunnyside Records with a few assorted indie labels along the way since your 1985 trio debut on Concord Records, the move to working with Manfred Eicher and ECM is a major career shift. Can you expound on that, given that ECM is such a storied and highly recognized label now in its sixth decade.
As a self-taught jazz pianist in Cincinnati in the early 70s, I began buying ECM albums at the local record shop. Dave Holland’s “Conference of the Birds,” Keith Jarrett’s “Bremen/Lausanne,” and Chick Corea and Gary Burton’s “Crystal Silence.” The covers were gorgeous, the sound was great and I became an ECM fan, buying pretty much everything I could get my hands on. I met Manfred very organically. In 2021 I recorded a duo album with Italian trumpet maestro Enrico Rava, which turned out very well – and Manfred mentioned that we should do a project together. This led to my solo debut for the label, recorded in the same auditorium at the Swiss Radio in Lugano, Switzerland: “Silent, Listening”; then last year’s trio album with Drew Gress and Joey Baron “The Surrounding Green”. Manfred is one of the greatest record producers in history and he brings so much to the sessions! It’s an honor to work with them, and it’s hard to believe this happened fifty years after I bought those first ECM recordings.
5. You have recorded 13 trio albums beginning in 1985, many of which feature Drew Gress. And over the years recording and performing with so many remarkable bassists from Marc Johnson, esperanza spalding, Michael Formanek, Charlie Haden and John Hébert. How has Drew shaped the sound of your trio? And how much has Johnathan Blake played live with you and Drew?
I have played with Drew Gress almost 40 years, since the late 1980s. We have a deep understanding and I (and many others) consider him to be the “bass player’s bass player”. He is extremely modest yet very deep, with a fantastic sound and a wealth of experience in all areas of jazz; he has appeared on almost 500 albums! Johnathan is justifiably one of the most in-demand drummers on the scene and he and Drew have a wonderful connection. We have played together at the Village Vanguard for a few weeks over the last several years and this is the first time the three of us have been on the road together. He radiates joy in everything he plays.