“Celebrating Prince” & Karl Denson Highlight Kick-off of 2027!
JAS Café Performances, Special Events, Collaborations, Locals Nights
Local’s Only Season Memberships Now Available
After an extremely successful first year of performances, education programs and special events at the new Paul JAS Center, Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) is pleased to announce highlights of their second Winter Season, launching in December with multiple nights of holiday performances. JAS has assembled a stellar cast of world-class Artists once again, including a mix of returning audience favorites, as well as Artists gracing the JAS stage for the first time. Audiences can discover genre-focused mini-series of their preferred styles of music, as well as the option to mix Artists and genres across the months. The full Winter series will stretch from December 18 through April 10, and with JAS’ “All That Jazz” Local’s Only Membership, Roaring Fork Valley residents will have an option to purchase show tickets at discounts throughout the year.
“Bringing the Paul JAS Center to life in downtown Aspen’s core has been a dream come true that has allowed us to serve this community in ways only a permanent and secure venue can ensure,” said JAS Founder, President & CEO Jim Horowitz. “The audience and community’s embrace of our new home has truly exceeded our highest expectations! Overwhelmingly, the feedback has been that the Paul JAS Center has filled a void in the Aspen Core, a uniquely intimate and stylish space, equally embraced by JAS’ long-time friends as well as a steady stream of visitors and new audiences. The venue has quickly taken its place as a beloved new gathering spot in Aspen for diverse, community uses: world-class performance, music education, a growing collection of special events, and our recording and broadcast studio.”
The JAS Café Winter 2027 line-up expands to twenty-five nights of shows, including an already sold-out, two-night tribute to a musical icon “Celebrating Prince,” December 28-29, featuring founding members of Prince’s original band, New Power Generation. The following night December 30, JAS welcomes back the legendary funk/jazz superstar Karl Denson’s New “Afro-Sonic” band, celebrating Afro-Beat superstar, Fela Kuti. JAS will ring in the New Year on January 2-3 with the return of one of the hottest jazz, blues and soul vocalists to have emerged in recent years, Morgan James, who was a big hit at her 2025 Aspen summer debut. Her January 3 performance will feature the “Supper Club” format which includes a 3-course dinner created by the Paul JAS Center’s in-house catering team, Epicure Catering.
Fans of jazz-pop vocalists will be thrilled when JAS welcomes back multi-Grammy winning vocalist Veronica Swift on Friday, March 12 with the full Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra, who collectively gave a sensational hit show last July. The performance will be the first JAS Café show to be recorded from the Paul JAS Center, a big milestone for JAS.
In mid-February, JAS celebrates two of the great musical traditions of the Caribbean and New Orleans. On February 12, JAS welcomes back Trinidadian-born trumpeter, band-leader and educator, “Etienne Charles’ Creole Carnival” a colorful, high-energy spectacle blending jazz with the sights and sounds of Trinidad Carnival. Colorful attire is requested and the best dressed couple will win a pair of passes to the JAS June Experience. The following night, February 13, the party vibe continues with a New Orleans Mardi-Gras twist as JAS hosts the trombone-playing bandleader from the famed New Orleans musical family Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra.
One of the musical series JAS introduced in 2026, which will expand in 2027, is the “dance-friendly” format called “Café-Dance” allowing attendees to sit and listen at JAS Café tables or stand and dance in designated areas. Two Artists making their JAS debuts in this format in 2027 include The Breaks on Friday, February 19 and the Polyrhythmics on Saturday, February 27, both high energy, genre-bending groups who operate at the intersection of jazz, funk and soul, drenched in shifting rhythms.
The series will again have a distinctly international flair, including many world-renowned Artists focused on music from Cuba, Spain, Africa, the Caribbean and more. This includes the return of the popular collaboration first presented at the Paul JAS Center in 2026, a live, “unscripted improvisation” between DanceAspen dancers and the high-energy Canadian Afro-Cuban Jazz duo, Okan on March 17-18, with the second evening to include Supper Club tickets.
On March 26 the Café digs deeper into Cuban music, featuring the sizzling sounds of virtuoso Cuban pianist, The Dayramir Gonzalez Quartet, celebrating a dizzying array of fiery Cuban, Caribbean and pan-Latin rhythms. “Every note I play carries the spirit of Havana and the soul of jazz” said Dayramir.
For fans of blue and rock, JAS presents the searing guitar and vocals of the Eric Johanson Trio on February 20. Named one of Guitar Player Magazine’s “25 Best New Blues Guitarists,” Johanson delivers modern blues-rock with grit, power, and raw electricity. On Friday, March 19, the emerging rock guitarist & vocalist Aly Venable and her band return to Aspen after a spectacular debut at the 2026 June Experience.
Saturday, March 20 will feature the first family of New Orleans Funk, Dumpstaphunk, a group that has spent nearly two decades establishing itself as a cornerstone of New Orleans music, earning a reputation as a next-generation funk institution rooted in the legacy of the Neville family and The Meters.
For fans of strings, JAS is thrilled to announce Spanish bassist Vincen Garcia will perform on February 5. Considered one of the most prestigious bassists in the current modern jazz and funk scene worldwide, Garcia is making waves for his explosive live stage presence. Virtuoso guitar wizard Tommy Emmanuel, CPG will return on Friday, February 26, following his magical June 2025 performance.
MORE TO COME!! Still to be announced are Artists for JAS’ “Next-Gen” Series, scheduled for the last Thursday of each month, January-March, a diverse, fast-forward, high energy series aimed at the younger set, as well as a handful of additional diverse artists for the JAS Café. The full schedule of JAS Café performances can be found at https://jazzaspensnowmass.org/jas-cafe-series/.
THE $30 BAR TICKET! JAS will continue to offer a $30 SRO/Bar ticket for all shows, allowing access to bar seating as well as a designated SRO area extending to just steps from the stage in the main room venue during Café-Dance performances.
RFV RESIDENT DISCOUNTED MEMBERSHIPS
All Roaring Fork Valley residents have the opportunity to purchase the $150 “All That JAS” membership, which includes early announcements for select JAS events, early purchase on all Paul JAS Center shows, 20% discount on all late shows at the Paul JAS Center, 10% discount on JAS June passes and invitations to select Paul JAS Center events. Passes can be purchased now at https://jazzaspensnowmass.org/memberships/#all-that-jas
TUESDAYS ARE LOCALS’ AT PAUL JAS CENTER
In addition to the JAS Café performances, Tuesday Community nights at the Paul JAS Center will return starting in January, with doors opening at 5pm for a night of food and drink specials, local entertainment, games, open-mic nights and more. JAS will host Salsa Nights on the first Tuesday of every month, and open-mic on the last Tuesday of every month. Look for a full schedule of events to be announced soon.
To learn about all upcoming events at the Paul JAS Center and JAS please visit https://jazzaspensnowmass.org/events/
PAUL JAS CENTER SCHEDULE – Learn more about all Artists by visiting us here
Dec. 28-29 – “Celebrating Prince” feat. Former members of New Power Generation – SOLD-OUT
Dec. 30 – Karl Denson’s “Afro-Sonic”
Jan. 2-3 – Morgan James (Supper Club Jan. 3)
Jan. 15 – Jamison Ross B-3 Trio
Feb. 5 – Vincen Garcia
Feb. 12 – Etienne Charles’ Creole Carnival
Feb. 13 – Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra
Feb. 19 – The Breaks
Feb. 26 – Tommy Emmanuel
Feb. 27 – Polyrhythmics
March 12 – Veronica Swift with the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra
March 17-18 – Okan / Dance Aspen Collaboration (Supper Club March 18)
March 19 – Ally Venable
March 20 – Dumpstaphunk
March 26 – Dayramir Gonzalez Quartet
April 2 – River Eckert
April 10 – Butcher Brown
