The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra has announced its 2026-27 season, titled “The World According to Jazz,” marking the ensemble's 42nd year and its sixth consecutive season performing at Case Western Reserve University's Maltz Performing Arts Center. The lineup celebrates jazz's global reach while honoring several genre-defining figures, including centennial tributes to Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
According to Cleveland.com, the season kicks off October 16, 2026, with “Rhythm Nation: Amplifying the World's Heartbeat,” a concert spotlighting rhythm and world music influences. The opening show features internationally known percussionist Jamey Haddad, who has performed with Paul Simon and Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. Haddad, a Cleveland native, was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2025 and owns a personal collection of more than 1,000 international instruments, according to the Percussive Arts Society.
A Season Built Around Jazz Centennials
The orchestra's “Legends of Jazz” concert, set for November 16, 2026, celebrates the 100th anniversaries of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, featuring music associated with both icons arranged for a full jazz orchestra. The pairing lines up with the national centennial recognition both musicians are receiving this year, since Davis and Coltrane were born in May and September 1926, respectively, per the University Musical Society.
The season also includes “Bright Lights Big City” on May 22, 2027, a tribute to Quincy Jones, who worked across jazz, Broadway, and popular music throughout his career. Rounding out the mainstage lineup is “Blues in the Night” on April 24, 2027, the orchestra's annual collaboration with The Musical Theater Project, showcasing the music of composer Harold Arlen, who wrote Over the Rainbow, Stormy Weather, and Come Rain or Come Shine.
Deep Roots Tied to a Historic Venue
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra performs at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, which has served as the ensemble's home venue for the past six seasons. The center's Silver Hall occupies the 1924 Charles R. Greco-designed sanctuary of The Temple-Tifereth Israel, converted into a 1,200-seat performance space in 2015, a transformation Hoodline detailed in its earlier coverage of the venue's Skirball Writers Center Stage series.
That architectural history reflects just one layer of the orchestra's long institutional ties to Case Western Reserve University. Artistic Director Paul Ferguson, a trombonist and composer, has served as the university's Director of Jazz Studies since 1988, according to Case Western Reserve University. Ferguson succeeded longtime artistic director Jack Schantz, who led the CJO from 1994 to 2009 and established the ensemble's tradition of blending member compositions with tributes to national jazz icons, per DownBeat. Schantz remains an active CJO trumpet player and a faculty member at the University of Akron.
From Rehearsal Group to Regional Institution
The orchestra traces its origin to a 1983 rehearsal ensemble called the North Coast Jazz Orchestra, which formally incorporated as a non-profit under the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra name in 1985, according to the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. More than four decades later, the ensemble's April 2027 “Blues in the Night” concert will mark its 11th annual collaboration with The Musical Theater Project, featuring guest vocalists Evelyn Wright, Erin Keckan, and Michael Shirtz, and co-hosted by Ferguson and Musical Theater Project founder Bill Rudman.
Rudman's organization brings its own national reach to the partnership. The Musical Theater Project preserves 20th-century American musical theater, and Rudman's radio show, Footlight Parade, is broadcast on more than 100 public radio stations and SiriusXM, according to The Musical Theater Project.
Access Beyond the Mainstage
The orchestra is also working to widen access to its music beyond its subscription series at the Maltz Center. During the 2026-27 season, the CJO is offering $10 student tickets at the door and holding open rehearsal sessions inside Northeast Ohio high schools, an initiative the organization says is meant to broaden youth access to live jazz.
Season subscriptions for the 2026-27 lineup range from $90 to $195, while individual concert tickets range from $25 to $55, with full details available through the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra at clevelandjazz.org. Beyond the mainstage series, the orchestra maintains a year-round presence across the region through its “CJO in the City” program, performing at venues including the BOP STOP in Cleveland and BLU Jazz+ in Akron.
