"We Always Swing" Jazz Series programs 29th season of Grammy winners, young guns

The "We Always Swing" Jazz Series, by now a Columbia institution — though one that isn't staid, but lives and moves and, well, swings — has set a killer lineup for its 29th season.

The music begins Aug. 27, with Columbia Jazz Orchestra playing a kick-off event at The Roof, then will open up to enfold Grammy winners, cosmic big bands and young guns we'll likely still be talking about in 30 or 40 years' time.

Here's a brief look at five shows that just leap off the series announcement page:

Oct. 11-12: Von Freeman centennial celebration at Whitmore Recital Hall, University of Missouri

One of the truly great figures in Chicago jazz, changing that city's winds with his saxophone, will receive a celebration about a week after he would have turned 100. His son, the venerable artist Chico Freeman, will collaborate with consummate Chicagoan Brad Goode's band to honor his father. Tickets are $25-$40.

Oct. 24: Samara Joy at Missouri Theatre

Rescheduled from a spring date, this now-bigger show still might not be able to contain the talents and charisma of Joy, winner of two Grammys earlier this year — including the prestigious best new artist prize. The young singer entrances from the earliest measures of a song, delivering a satisfying emotional experience. Tickets are $10-$40.

Nov. 5: Sun Ra Arkestra at The Blue Note

Formed by, and still revolving around the legacy of, the keyboardist, singer and interplanetary figure Sun Ra, this sprawling band arrives in partnership with the Columbia Experimental Music Festival. "The Sun Ra Arkestra is all about freedom and liberation through deep understanding and imagination," CEMF founder Matthew Crook recently told the Tribune. Tickets are $35-$45.

Dec. 3: Immanuel Wilkins Quartet at Murry's

Only two records into his career as a bandleader, the 25-year-old Philadelphia native is setting a generational standard for saxophone-led spiritual jazz. AllMusic's Thom Jurek compared moments on last year's "The 7th Hand" to John Coltrane's "Ascension" and notes that Wilkins is "possessed of a round, warm, emotionally powerful tone, informed not only by the jazz tradition but gospel as well." Tickets are $20-$50.

Feb. 25-26: Maria Schneider Orchestra at Missouri Theatre

Grammy-winning composer and conductor Schneider shepherds her jazz orchestra through lush musical wilds that welcome listeners who love hearing multiple traditions collide, then thrive; "hers is a multifaceted, multilayered, ambidextrous music, a neo-big-band jazz informed by classical convention," JazzTimes' Jeff Tamarkin wrote in 2021. Tickets are $15 to $49.

Other worthy acts coming to the Jazz Series in 2023-24

Saxophonist Tim Armacost will lead a band of heavy hitters, including vibraphonist Joe Locke and drummer Rudy Royston, into Murry's to kick off the 2023-24 season (Sept. 17); fellow sax player Alexa Tarantino, called a "one-woman wrecking crew" by no less than jazz ambassador Wynton Marsalis, brings her quartet for a had-to be-there show (Nov. 12); a terrific pairing of singer Tierney Sutton and pianist Tamir Hendelman will deliver the art of the duo (Jan. 14); offering "A Taste of Pittsburgh," the Marty and Jay Ashby Quartet will guide a two-day affair in the spring (March 17-18); the annual Dr. Carlos and Laura Perez-Mesa Memorial Concert will welcome the great Arturo O'Farrill as part of an extended exploration of Afro-Cuban culture (April 10-12); and venerable player Benny Green will make the piano sing at a solo date (April 28).

Visit https://www.wealwaysswing.org/season/2023-2024/ for information on any of this coming season's shows. Season tickets are open through July 28; other packages will roll out progressively, with all single tickets hitting Aug. 15.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: "We Always Swing" Jazz Series programs 29th season of Grammy winners, young guns