“…the music arrived in an overwhelming torrent, offering a deeply satisfying roster of artists representing many of the genre’s most interesting directions.” —San Francisco Classical Voice 

“The oldest continuous jazz festival on the planet and the best jazz gathering on the west coast continued with the long tradition established especially during current director Tim Jackson’s lead, with a carefully-curated and balanced feast of acts both commercial and adventurous … laying out an agenda which somehow conveys the current state of jazz, from many angles, while also making the numbers work and satisfying the divergent tastes of a jazz audience grown both more fragmented and more eclectic-eared.” —AllAboutJazz.com 

“…the event was well-attended and was sold out two of the three days. The 6,400-cap on tickets per day fit the fairgrounds footprint nicely. I never felt overwhelmed by the number of people present and that was a real plus for many who were making their first return to a major music festival post-pandemic.” —Monterey County Herald 

“Last weekend’s 65th annual Monterey Jazz Festival, the only world-class jazz festival in doable driving distance of Santa Barbara, unveiled an inspiring program, bigger than last year if still shy of the full dimensions of pre-COVID life.” —Santa Barbara Independent 

“The Monterey Jazz Festival is technically outside of the Bay Area, but it’s a bona fide institution … Always worth the drive, the festival’s setting is serene and the music top-notch.”
—KQED 

“The 65th Monterey Jazz Festival … was a fine return to form for this beloved tradition … As always, the festival featured a mix of some of the biggest names in jazz alongside rising stars…”
—Monterey County Weekly

“Over the course of the Sept. 23–26 weekend, a theme of spirituality emanated from many acts, even as a sense of theatricality blossomed in others, which was new to Monterey … But avant-garde or straight ahead, theatrical or spiritual, the Monterey Jazz Festival is back.” —DownBeat 

“Throughout its unrivaled 65-year history, the Monterey Jazz Festival has demonstrated an uncanny ability to keep swimming (figuratively): to adapt, survive, and flourish… MJF yielded to the winds of change and spotlighted a significant amount of youthful and fast-emerging artists.” —JazzTimes