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 Jazz Concerts

 
“Stellar jazz in La Jolla”
— George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune
 

Athenaeum Jazz

Ben Williams.jpeg
 
 

ATHENAEUM JAZZ

Fall 2024 Series

Our annual fall series of Athenaeum Jazz will take place in the library’s Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room (at 1008 Wall Street in La Jolla). Seating is limited, so early reservations are advised. Please join us for these three special evenings featuring internationally acclaimed jazz artists Ben Williams, Billy Childs, and Alex Kautz. For tickets and information, click below or call (858) 454-5872.

Featured
Ben Williams Quartet
Nov 2
Athenaeum Jazz
Ben Williams Quartet
Athenaeum Jazz

Saturday, November 2, 2024
7:30 PM

The fall series opens Saturday, November 2, with the Ben Williams Quartet, featuring bassist Williams with vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, guitarist Andrew Renfroe, and drummer John Davis. Since winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2009, Williams has made his mark as a producer, bandleader, arranger, and avidly sought-after accompanist for heavyweights in and beyond jazz, including Wynton Marsalis, Lauryn Hill, José James, and Pat Metheny (with whom he won a 2013 Grammy for the album Unity Band). As a bandleader, the Washington, D.C., native is a calmly charismatic presence whose music taps directly into the deepest wellsprings of African American culture.

Athenaeum Jazz
Billy Childs Quartet
Dec 1
Athenaeum Jazz
Billy Childs Quartet
Athenaeum Jazz

Sunday, December 1, 2024
7:30 PM

The series continues Sunday, December 1, with the Billy Childs Quartet, featuring Childs on piano, Matthew Stubbs on clarinet, Dan Chmielinski on bass, and Benjamin Ring on drums. Multi-Grammy-winner Billy Childs has been a favorite performer on the Athenaeum series going back to his debut at the library in 1996. He remains one of the most diversely prolific and acclaimed artists working in music today. As a composer, he has been commissioned by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Kronos Quartet, the Dorian Wind Quintet, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the American Brass Quintet, the Ying Quartet, the Lyris Quartet, and Anne Akiko Meyers.

Athenaeum Jazz
Alex Kautz Quartet
Jan 16
Athenaeum Jazz
Alex Kautz Quartet
Athenaeum Jazz

Thursday, January 16, 2025
7:30 PM

The fall series concludes Thursday, January 16, with the Athenaeum debut of the Alex Kautz Quartet, featuring Kautz on drums, Chico Pinheiro on guitar, John Ellis on saxophone, and Joe Martin on bass. Renowned for his musicality, groove, and knowledge of various genres, Kautz stands out as a distinguished percussionist, educator, and composer. With an unwavering passion for jazz and world music, he has crafted a captivating and distinct musical voice. A Brazilian artist based in New York City, Kautz has been an important part of the city’s music scene for the last decade and has played and/or recorded with some of the top artists in the industry today, including Tim Ries, Magos Herrera, Nilson Matta, Chico Pinheiro, Steve Wilson, Lenny Andrade, Fabio Gouvea, Helio Alves, Victor Prieto, and Lionel Loueke.

Athenaeum Jazz
 

JOAN & IRWIN JACOBS
MUSIC ROOM
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
1008 Wall Street
La Jolla, CA 92037

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS

CONCERTS BEGIN AT 7:30 PM.
DOORS OPEN AT 7:00 PM.

SERIES OF 3 CONCERTS:
$141 member / $156 nonmember

INDIVIDUAL CONCERTS:
$50 member / $55 nonmember

Online ticket sales are subject to ticketing fees.

  • The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. Priority seating will be given to Donor level members and above. 

    These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.

  • Payment must be received in order to reserve a spot at a concert.

  • ALL SALES ARE FINAL. No refunds or exchanges. In the event of a cancellation for which there is no rescheduled date, a refund for this ticket may be issued at the option of the management.

 
 
“This thoughtful series presents jazz with the seriousness and dignity becoming the art form.”
— DownBeat magazine, “150 Great Jazz Rooms”
“One of the west coast’s more discerning jazz concert series…”
— Josef Woodard, JazzTimes magazine
“The intimate and acoustically pristine Athenaeum Library was packed with fans primed for the event.”
— Robert Bush, San Diego Reader
 

(Photo by Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)

“What is even more impressive than the many stellar musicians who have appeared there is that the Jazz at the Athenaeum series has endured—and thrived—for three decades. Moreover, its jazz programming has been guided the entire time by a single curator, Daniel Atkinson, whose longevity equals that of the series.”
— George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune