Wednesday, April 8– 7:30 PM
Taos Center for the Arts
Teaser Above Title
Fred Hersch Trio
Cancelled due to illness.
John Hébert, bass; Jonathan Blake, drums
Presented in collaboration with Taos Pride.
We hope to reschedule sometime later in the year.
Purchased tickets will be refunded. Details to come.
"quiet dynamism, introspection and uplifting joy”
– UK Jazz News
A select member of jazz’s piano pantheon, Fred Hersch is a creative force who has shaped the music’s course for more than three decades. Improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist, he’s a 17-time Grammy Award nominee who continues to earn jazz’s most prestigious awards, including being named Jazz Pianist of the Year three times by the Jazz Journalists Association (2011, 2016, 2018), Doris Duke Artist (2016), and the Jazz Magazine (France) International Artist of the Year (2021). Proclaimed “a living legend” by The New Yorker, Hersch has long defined jazz’s creative edge in a wide variety of settings. The Fred Hersch Trio, voted the #1 Jazz Group in the 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll, has appeared at major jazz festivals throughout Europe and the US and has regularly headlined at the legendary Village Vanguard. Hersch's latest trio album, The Surrounding Green, was released in 2025
to deeply appreciative critical acclaim. "Soaked in jazz tradition, but equally driven to pursue his own distinctive vision, Hersch possesses one of the most divine keyboard techniques of anyone currently working."–Michael Toland, The Big Takeover.
"No one quite gets to the heart of the matter like Fred Hersch. He deploys just the right combination of sensitivity, intelligence and emotion to absorb the listener in a private sensation that would under other circumstances never get expressed. Hersch gets it just right. He touches that keyboard and whoosh… you are there." –Chris Pearson, The Times (Five stars)
Taos Center for the Arts, 133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM
Thursday, November 13, 2025
TCA, 7:30 PM
Teaser Above Title
The Lorca Hart Quartet
Lorca Hart, drums; Lyle Link, saxophone; Josh Nelson, piano; Edwin Livingston, bass
Special Guest appearance by George Cables
$30 / $25 (TCA & Taos Jazz Bebop Society members)
$25 Family Ticket (1 ticket good for up to 2 adults,
must include children/youth– up to 5 persons total)
exciting mainstream jazz by four exceptional musicians.
Don't miss this reunion!
Jazz Sensibilities
Acclaimed drummer, educator, and original Taoseño, Lorca Hart loves to come "home" for annual performances. Over his career, Lorca has focused on the art and craft of drumming, jazz history, and ensemble collaboration. From his home base in California's Bay Area, he has worked with many of the America's finest artists including Bobby Hutcherson, Ralph Moore, Carmen Lundy, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Jordan, Julian Lage, Hugh Masekela, actor/musician Jeff Goldblum, Kenny Washington, the Cross Hart Jazz Experience and Nicolas Bearde. He also leads the Lorca Hart Trio featuring pianist Josh Nelson and bassist Edwin Livingston, both of whom will be onstage with him at TCA. Lorca also teaches at Stanford Jazz Workshop, Mt. San Antonio College, SF Jazz and many other musical clinics and workshops.
Tenor Saxophonist Lyle Link is a sought after Washington DC sideman who has played with Lorca since his California years. His jazz style is both athletic and lyrical. His versatility has led him to perform with artists as
varied as Patti Austin, Christian McBride, Larry Willis, George Duke, Curtis Lundy and Ralph Peterson, to name a few. He has also gigged with pop icons Patti Labelle, Isaac Hayes, Aretha Franklin… and even jammed with Prince. A regular featured member of Washington, DC-based groups Sine Qua Non, the Todd Marcus Jazz Orchestra, and the Kenny Rittenhouse Sextet, he has also performed with the Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In addition to working as a first call sideman, Lyle also leads his own group, the Lyle Link Quartet.
Pianist Josh Nelson has performed and recorded with some of the most respected names in jazz and beyond, including Natalie Cole, Jeff Hamilton, Walter Smith III, Dayna Stephens, Eddie Daniels, Richard Galliano, Michael Bublé, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, John Pizzarelli, and Lewis Nash.
Bassist Edwin Livingston has performed and/or recorded with many jazz greats, including Elvin Jones, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, The Headhunters, David ”Fathead” Newman, Peter Erskine, Tootie Heath, and Joe LaBarbera.
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Two performances– 3:00 & 7:30 PM
Taos Center for the Arts
Teaser Above Title
Grace Kelly
Adam Bravo, piano & keys; Cooper Appelt, electric & upright bass; Ross Pederson, drums
“Grace Kelly has an electric charisma
that instantly ignites the stage.”– JON BATISTE
As a saxophonist, singer, songwriter and knock-out performer, Grace Kelly dazzles in every way. Her blazing talent on the saxophone showed up at a very early age… she was only 12 when she met Frank Morgan and he invited her to perform with him. She was mentored by Frank Morgan until his death in 2007. Grace has performed and/or recorded Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Hewy Lewis, Gloria Estefan, Wynton Marsalis and Questlove. She was a member of the Jon Batiste House Band on Late Night with Stephen Colbert. Grace and her original music have been featured on the TV series, Bosch. At 16 she performed at the White House for the Inauguration of Barak Obama. Grace has since rocked the world-wide jazz world with sold-out concerts, 15 acclaimed albums… even performing on
bari-sax with the punk band The Fearless Flyers, which won her the 2023 Critics Poll for “Rising StarBaritone Saxophone.” In 2022, she became the youngest member of Berklee College of Music’s Board of Trustees. This is Grace’s 11th star-turn at the Frank Morgan Taos Jazz Festival. Her unique mixture of pop-infused jazz, spectacular sax skills and songs featuring her purring vocals have brought Taos audiences to their feet every time. This one is sure to be another joyous event.
The Family Matinée concert is planned as a family-friendly show. Grace is wonderful with kids, and takes real delight in introducing them to jazz. Both of Grace’s concerts are specially-priced for families, so bring the kids!
The mountains. The mesa. And world-class jazz… year 'round.