New Names, Familiar Faces, One Epic Festival!

The legends you love are back — and they’re bringing tomorrow’s jazz greats with them. In this new blog series,  get acquainted with icons, innovators, and newcomers performing at MJF68.

Featured Returning Favorite: Christian McBride!

Christian McBride has been a ubiquitous artist at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Over the course of 30 years and 16 different appearances on multiple stages, McBride has fulfilled nearly every role an artist can fulfill at the festival — a bandleader for multiple years; Artist-in-Residence (2008), Commission Artist and Showcase Artist (2019); as a featured sideman with Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Angelique Kidjo, and Dave Brubeck, and as a performer on special projects and tributes, like ones honoring Jaco Pastorius (2015), Quincy Jones (2016), and Ray Brown (2018).

In September, Christian returns to Monterey with a new band, Ursa Major, which features intergenerational talent including saxophonist Nicole Glover, who was a Next Generation Jazz Orchestra member on the Jimmy Lyons Stage in 2009.

You can catch Christian and Ursa Major on the Arena’s Jimmy Lyons Stage on Friday, September 26 at 9pm. Christian will also be in conversation with the Grammy-winning journalist Ashley Kahn on Saturday, September 27 at noon in the Pacific Jazz Café in what will be a fascinating storytelling session. Buy tickets now!

And we are proud to share that McBride will be the honoree of MJF68’s Jazz Legends Gala prior to the festival on Thursday, September 25. We cannot think of a more qualified and deserving musician and friend.

Featured First Time Festival Performer: Grace Kelly!

Joining Monterey Jazz Festival for the first time in 2025 is saxophonist Grace Kelly — a gifted prodigy who released her first album in 2005 when she was 12 years old. At age 14, Grace was as a soloist with the Boston Pops. By age 16, she performed at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration.

Growing up in the Boston area, Grace graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2011. In 2016, she became a member of John Batiste’s house band “Stay Human” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, reaching a national audience nightly. She found herself playing alongside saxophonist Eddie Barbash, (himself a 2007 Next Generation Jazz Orchestra member). “Despite being so driven and successful at such a young age, Grace has always been very humble and down to earth. That’s a rare combination,” Barbash told NBC News at the time.

Grace has played over 1,000 shows as a bandleader in 35 countries at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Moscow Symphony Hall, and international jazz festivals. Touted for her scorching saxophone stylings and purring vocals, Grace has performed and recorded with renowned artists including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dave Brubeck, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Huey Lewis, Harry Connick Jr., Jon Batiste, Gloria Estefan, Questlove, and Wynton Marsalis.

You can catch Grace’s debut appearance at the 68th Monterey Jazz Festival on Friday, September 26 at 5:30pm in Dizzy Den. Buy tickets now!