2025 Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame inductee and Manhattan Jazz Quintet leader Dave Matthews (no, not that Dave Matthews!) teams with Cincinnati music legend Carmon DeLeone in a special program featuring Matthews’ jazz arrangements of The Beatles and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Renewing a friendship dating back to their days at the University of Cincinnati, Matthews and DeLeone lead a 6-Piece Jazz Ensemble with a String Orchestra and premiere toe-tapping arrangements of sparkling creativity for the Queen City.

Sun Ra founded the Sun Ra Arkestra in Chicago in the mid-1950’s.

Sun Ra was among the earliest pioneers of the synthesizer and the free jazz revolution of 1960’s. Sun Ra sent a strong spiritual and musical message to his Arkestra wanting them to help make the universe better through positive vibrations and music.

The Sun Ra Arkestra are known worldwide for their live shows that combine big-band swing, space-age free jazz, be-bop, singing, dancing, chanting and Afro-pageantry. The Arkestra has been at the forefront of Afro-futurism since their inception.

The Arkestra have recorded more than 100 albums. Their 2020 album “Swirling” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Big Band Jazz Ensemble recording. Their newest album “Lights On A Satellite” was released in February 2025.

After more than 60 years the band continue to circle the globe on their Inter-Galactic tour. Recent highlights include shows at the Kennedy Center with Solange, The Berlin Opera House, the Burlington Jazz Festival and a New York City show at Radio City Music Hall.

In 2025 they will be performing at the Big Ears Festival in Tennessee, a West Coast Tour, NY City Winter Jazz Fest and touring Australia and Europe as well as the DC Jazz Festival.

Few bands have travelled this far – cosmically and musically.

“The possible has been tried and failed. Now it’s time to try the impossible.”

Sun Ra

Space is the Place!

Grammy Award winning titan of jazz saxophone Joe Lovano and virtuoso guitarist Julian Lage have enjoyed a long journey of mutual artistic admiration. They first met in 1999 at Yoshi’s in Oakland, where Joe was performing with McCoy Tyner. Then a child prodigy, Julian’s father brought him to the show and it was there he connected with Joe. They kept in touch through the years – even performing together at a private event – then reuniting at Berklee College of Music. “I’ve always found him a natural, beautiful, expressive musician with maturity beyond his years,” Joe says of Julian, “He is someone I always knew I would collaborate with at some point and I’m so happy to have his contributions within the Paramount Quartet.”

Longtime Lovano collaborator Asante Santi Debriano, who first performed with Joe in the Archie Shepp Quartet in the 1980s, joins on bass. Drummer Will Calhoun (of Living Colour fame) called Joe to perform with him and Santi in a fundraiser last year for the Puerto Rican Relief Fund after the devastating hurricane. That explosive, creative set was the springboard leading to the idea of adding Julian and forming this new band, which debuted at the legendary Village Vanguard in February 2024.

Feel your feet and body go into motion despite your unwillingness to let go! Feel the infectious grooves propel your soul through the rhythmic jungles of Mambo Madness with Cincy’s own “Latin Jazz Experience” … Mambo Combo!

Featuring Michael Sharfe (bass), Tim McCord (saxophone & flute), John Zappa (trumpet), Brian Batchelor-Glader (piano), Andrew Gillum (drums) and Baba Charles Miller (percussion)

Sizzling jazz warms wintery Monday nights as Jazz at the Memo returns in 2025 to the beautiful and acoustically superb Anderson Theater at Memorial Hall. Enjoy the finest of Cincinnati’s thriving jazz scene, including some of the region’s premier women and BIPOC artists, in intimate and often surprising performances. Celebrated local acts making their JATM debut in 2025 include The Faux Frenchmen and their tribute to Django Reinhardt, the explosive sounds of the Nasty Nati Brass Band and a program of vocal duets featuring songstress April Aloisio.    

Subscription packages now available! Don’t want to miss a beat of jazz this winter? Purchase our Jazz at the Memo subscription package and receive reserved seating for all 16 winter performances, representing a savings of $60 in ticketing fees.  

Beginning in May, the party moves outdoors! Join us across the street for Washington Park’s “Jazz in the Park,” Monday evenings through October (excepting holidays); and for Fountain Square’s “Jazz at the Square” programs, Tuesday evenings May through September. 

Queen City Cabaret returns to Memorial Hall for a sentimental journey through some of the most romantic tunes of the 1940s and 1950s. Grab your sweetheart and join us for a walk down memory lane, featuring beloved songs by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and more.

Featuring Sarah Folsom (vocals) and Matthew Umphreys (piano)

Sizzling jazz warms wintery Monday nights as Jazz at the Memo returns in 2025 to the beautiful and acoustically superb Anderson Theater at Memorial Hall. Enjoy the finest of Cincinnati’s thriving jazz scene, including some of the region’s premier women and BIPOC artists, in intimate and often surprising performances. Celebrated local acts making their JATM debut in 2025 include The Faux Frenchmen and their tribute to Django Reinhardt, the explosive sounds of the Nasty Nati Brass Band and a program of vocal duets featuring songstress April Aloisio.    

Subscription packages now available! Don’t want to miss a beat of jazz this winter? Purchase our Jazz at the Memo subscription package and receive reserved seating for all 16 winter performances, representing a savings of $60 in ticketing fees.  

Beginning in May, the party moves outdoors! Join us across the street for Washington Park’s “Jazz in the Park,” Monday evenings through October (excepting holidays); and for Fountain Square’s “Jazz at the Square” programs, Tuesday evenings May through September. 

RICKY NYE presents sounds of New Orleans through the years: traditional jazz from the likes of Louis Armstrong & Jelly Roll Morton; selections by piano practitioners such as Professor Longhair & James Booker; rhythm & blues a la Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint plus several NOLA-inspired original numbers

Featuring Ricky Nye (piano & vocals), Matt McCoy (upright bass), Josiah Wolf (drums) and Joe Polen (tenor & baritone saxes, clarinet)

Sizzling jazz warms wintery Monday nights as Jazz at the Memo returns in 2025 to the beautiful and acoustically superb Anderson Theater at Memorial Hall. Enjoy the finest of Cincinnati’s thriving jazz scene, including some of the region’s premier women and BIPOC artists, in intimate and often surprising performances. Celebrated local acts making their JATM debut in 2025 include The Faux Frenchmen and their tribute to Django Reinhardt, the explosive sounds of the Nasty Nati Brass Band and a program of vocal duets featuring songstress April Aloisio.    

Subscription packages now available! Don’t want to miss a beat of jazz this winter? Purchase our Jazz at the Memo subscription package and receive reserved seating for all 16 winter performances, representing a savings of $60 in ticketing fees.  

Beginning in May, the party moves outdoors! Join us across the street for Washington Park’s “Jazz in the Park,” Monday evenings through October (excepting holidays); and for Fountain Square’s “Jazz at the Square” programs, Tuesday evenings May through September. 

Trumpeter Mike Wade performs tunes from his highly anticipated second album release, “Mike Wade – REALITY II.” The show will display a combination of instrumental jazz fused with rap and vocals, as well as strong contemporary jazz-based originals, remakes and R&B.

Featuring Mike Wade (trumpet) Maurice Ellis (bass), George Simon (guitar), Dione Howard (drums), Richard Branham (percussion), Ben Tweedt (keyboards) and Eli Gonzalez (saxophones)

Sizzling jazz warms wintery Monday nights as Jazz at the Memo returns in 2025 to the beautiful and acoustically superb Anderson Theater at Memorial Hall. Enjoy the finest of Cincinnati’s thriving jazz scene, including some of the region’s premier women and BIPOC artists, in intimate and often surprising performances. Celebrated local acts making their JATM debut in 2025 include The Faux Frenchmen and their tribute to Django Reinhardt, the explosive sounds of the Nasty Nati Brass Band and a program of vocal duets featuring songstress April Aloisio.    

Subscription packages now available! Don’t want to miss a beat of jazz this winter? Purchase our Jazz at the Memo subscription package and receive reserved seating for all 16 winter performances, representing a savings of $60 in ticketing fees.  

Beginning in May, the party moves outdoors! Join us across the street for Washington Park’s “Jazz in the Park,” Monday evenings through October (excepting holidays); and for Fountain Square’s “Jazz at the Square” programs, Tuesday evenings May through September. 

Talented young vocalist Lili Shires, backed by The Steve Schmidt Trio, treats you to a program of songs celebrating springtime, love and life!

Featuring Lili Shires (vocals), Steve Schmidt (piano), Justin Dawson (bass) and Jim Leslie (drums)

Sizzling jazz warms wintery Monday nights as Jazz at the Memo returns in 2025 to the beautiful and acoustically superb Anderson Theater at Memorial Hall. Enjoy the finest of Cincinnati’s thriving jazz scene, including some of the region’s premier women and BIPOC artists, in intimate and often surprising performances. Celebrated local acts making their JATM debut in 2025 include The Faux Frenchmen and their tribute to Django Reinhardt, the explosive sounds of the Nasty Nati Brass Band and a program of vocal duets featuring songstress April Aloisio.    

Subscription packages now available! Don’t want to miss a beat of jazz this winter? Purchase our Jazz at the Memo subscription package and receive reserved seating for all 16 winter performances, representing a savings of $60 in ticketing fees.  

Beginning in May, the party moves outdoors! Join us across the street for Washington Park’s “Jazz in the Park,” Monday evenings through October (excepting holidays); and for Fountain Square’s “Jazz at the Square” programs, Tuesday evenings May through September. 

Take a journey with April Aloisio and Joanie Palliato blending music and friendship with their vocal duets. Aloisio, a sensuous and passionate soprano and Pallatto, a sultry and inviting alto, agree that there are times when they can’t tell each other apart — sharing in harmony, scat and improvisation.

Featuring April Aloisio (vocals), Joanie Pallatto (vocals), Bradley Parker-Sparrow (piano), Brian Batchelor-Glader (piano) and Bill Jackson (acoustic bass), with special guest Fareed Haque (guitar)

Sizzling jazz warms wintery Monday nights as Jazz at the Memo returns in 2025 to the beautiful and acoustically superb Anderson Theater at Memorial Hall. Enjoy the finest of Cincinnati’s thriving jazz scene, including some of the region’s premier women and BIPOC artists, in intimate and often surprising performances. Celebrated local acts making their JATM debut in 2025 include The Faux Frenchmen and their tribute to Django Reinhardt, the explosive sounds of the Nasty Nati Brass Band and a program of vocal duets featuring songstress April Aloisio.    

Subscription packages now available! Don’t want to miss a beat of jazz this winter? Purchase our Jazz at the Memo subscription package and receive reserved seating for all 16 winter performances, representing a savings of $60 in ticketing fees.  

Beginning in May, the party moves outdoors! Join us across the street for Washington Park’s “Jazz in the Park,” Monday evenings through October (excepting holidays); and for Fountain Square’s “Jazz at the Square” programs, Tuesday evenings May through September. 

Come along with The Four Strangers Quartet as they explore the early years of saxophone icon Wayne Shorter. Prior to the rise of his iconic group, Weather Report, Shorter’s formative associations with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey and many other greats would shape the voice that became legend.

Special thanks to John Hill and his YouTube channel “John Hill Heaven Now.”

Featuring Michael Sharfe (bass), Tim McCord (saxophone), John Zappa (trumpet) and Phil Tipton (drums) with special guest Chris Caporale (piano)

Sizzling jazz warms wintery Monday nights as Jazz at the Memo returns in 2025 to the beautiful and acoustically superb Anderson Theater at Memorial Hall. Enjoy the finest of Cincinnati’s thriving jazz scene, including some of the region’s premier women and BIPOC artists, in intimate and often surprising performances. Celebrated local acts making their JATM debut in 2025 include The Faux Frenchmen and their tribute to Django Reinhardt, the explosive sounds of the Nasty Nati Brass Band and a program of vocal duets featuring songstress April Aloisio.    

Subscription packages now available! Don’t want to miss a beat of jazz this winter? Purchase our Jazz at the Memo subscription package and receive reserved seating for all 16 winter performances, representing a savings of $60 in ticketing fees.  

Beginning in May, the party moves outdoors! Join us across the street for Washington Park’s “Jazz in the Park,” Monday evenings through October (excepting holidays); and for Fountain Square’s “Jazz at the Square” programs, Tuesday evenings May through September.