60th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Package Tickets On Sale 5/1

Three-day Arena and Grounds Ticket Packages for the 60th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 15-17 go on sale Monday, May 1. Tickets can be purchased online at montereyjazzfestival.org or by calling 888.248.6499.

Celebrating its historic milestone, the Festival, will feature over 110 performances from iconic and emerging jazz artists, educational events, conversations, films, and exhibits on eight stages, for 30 hours of live music spanning two days and three nights, accompanied by an array of 75 vendors selling international cuisine and merchandise on the oak-studded 20 acres of the Monterey County Fair & Event Center.

The Artists-in-Residence for MJF60 will be John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, and Gerald Clayton, and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra will debut the 2017 commission piece, "Stories of a Groove: Conception, Evolution, Celebration," written by John Clayton. Regina Carter will be the Showcase Artist, playing with three projects over the weekend.

Monterey Jazz Festival is a six-time JazzTimes Readers Poll winner, including being voted "Best Jazz Festival" for its 59th edition last year. Six NEA Jazz Masters will be featured at the Festival in 2017, including Kenny Barron, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, and Branford Marsalis, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe winner rapper/poet Common, A Prairie Home Companion host Chris Thile with Brad Mehldau; Tony Award-winning vocalist Leslie Odom, Jr. from Hamilton, and multiple award-winning vocalist and activist, Angélique Kidjo.

"In the world of music festivals, the Monterey Jazz Festival continues to be a standout both in terms of presenting the very best of jazz, but also in the character of the event, which welcomes everyone-young and old, jazz enthusiast, and novice alike," said Colleen Bailey, Executive Director. "Artistic Director Tim Jackson continues to deliver a lineup that includes household names, as well as artists who are pushing the boundaries of jazz."

"The 60-year history of the Monterey Jazz Festival is an inspiring legacy and a lesson in the history of jazz," said Artistic Director Tim Jackson. "For the 60th celebration, I am excited and grateful to be able to help build on this historical achievement by celebrating our past masters, reveling in the music of now, and gleefully pointing forward in new directions."

2017's GRAMMY Award-winning Arena lineup on Friday night, September 15 includes Herbie Hancock, and tributes to the 100th anniversary of the births of Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald with the Kenny Barron Trio with special guests Roy Hargrove, Sean Jones, and Pedrito Martinez, and Regina Carter's "Dear Ella."

The Saturday afternoon, September 16 Arena lineup includes Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Project, Mr. Sipp, and Monsieur Periné.

Saturday night includes a tribute to Sonny Rollins featuring Jimmy Heath, Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis, and Joshua Redman, with Gerald Clayton, Scott Colley and Lewis Nash; Tony Award-winning vocalist Leslie Odom, Jr. from Hamilton, and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with the Gerald Clayton Trio debuting the 2017 commission piece.

The Arena lineup on Sunday afternoon, September 17 includes Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Common, John Beasley's MONK'estra, celebrating the Thelonious Monk centennial, and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra with John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, and Gerald Clayton.

Sunday night in the Arena will feature Herbie Hancock with Chick Corea; Angelique Kidjo's Celia Cruz Tribute with Pedrito Martinez; and A Prairie Home Companion host Chris Thile with Brad Mehldau.

Full Weekend Arena Ticket Packages offer a reserved seat to each of the five concerts on the Jimmy Lyons Stage in the Arena (renewable annually) plus, access to the seven additional Grounds Stages, and all Festival activities. Full Weekend Arena Ticket Packages begin at $315.

Full Weekend Grounds Packages offer access to seven Grounds stages and activities. Full Weekend Grounds Packages are $145.

Grounds activities include nearly 100 events, conversations, films, and musical performances, with weekend highlights from the Joanne Brackeen Trio, Gerald Clayton Trio, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Regina Carter & Southern Comfort, Linda May Han Oh, Tia Fuller Quintet featuring Ingrid Jensen, Roberta Gambarini, Roy Hargrove Quintet, Vijay Iyer Sextet, Joe Lovano Classic Quartet, Pedrito Martinez Group, Matt Wilson's Honey & Salt, Amendola Vs. Blades, James Carter Organ Trio, Kyle Eastwood Band, GoGo Penguin, Sean Jones Quartet, Miles Mosley, Monsieur Periné, Ray Obiedo & The Latin Jazz Project, Alicia Olatuja, Ali Ryerson Quartet, The Suffers, Mr. Sipp, Kandace Springs, Chester Thompson Trio, Chano Dominguez Trio, Roger Fox Big Band with Chris Cain, Derrick Hodge & Mike Mitchell, the films I Called Him Morgan and Chick Corea: The Musician, and much more.

Also performing will be the top high school and college bands from the 2017 Next Generation Jazz Festival, including Northgate High School Jazz Band, Folsom High School Jazz Band I, Buchanan High School Jazz Band 'A', Rio Americano High School AM Jazz Ensemble, Crossroads School Jazz 'A' Band, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Vocal Ensemble, Folsom High School Jazz Choir I, Valencia High School Two 'N' Four, Joshua Tazman, SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra, USC Jazz Composers Collective, SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Jazz Ensemble, University of the Arts "Z" Big Band, and California State University, Sacramento Vox Now.

Also on sale are Full Weekend District 7 Premier Club hospitality passes, priced at $300. Benefits include a furnished setting offering closed-circuit Arena simulcasts, wines by District 7 and gourmet cuisine, private restrooms, indoor and outdoor patio seating, no-host top-shelf bars, and more. Arena or Grounds Ticket purchase is required.

The 11th Annual Jazz Legends Gala, held at the Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, will honor Herbie Hancock on Thursday, September 14, 2016. Special performances at this beautiful location will feature the Gerald Clayton Trio, Regina Carter, and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Cost is $290 per person. Proceeds from this event benefit Monterey Jazz Festival's jazz education programs. Contact 831.233.3715 for more information.

Single Day Arena and Daily Grounds Tickets go on sale May 15.

The full lineup for the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival can be found on montereyjazzfestival.org.