The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) is proud to announce the 2025-26 JAZZ ROOTS SERIES, which returns in November 2025 with a star-studded five-show lineup featuring some of the genre’s most celebrated artists. From a high-octane tribute to MILES DAVIS by the Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra to the silky vocals of Grammy winner SAMARA JOY (@samarajoysings), this season of Jazz Roots bridges generations of jazz mastery. Jazz icon TERENCE BLANCHARD (@terence_blanchard) revisits his seminal musical homage to the life of Malcolm X in a powerful jazz suite in February, and the electrifying Grammy winner “Queen of Percussion” SHEILA E. (@sheilae) brings her signature high-energy blend of jazz, funk and Latin flair in a show-stopping April performance. Miami-born pianist EMMET COHEN (@heyemmet) rounds out the season and brings his wildly popular web series Live from Emmet’s Place to the stage.
Five-show subscription packages are available now ranging from $190 to $530*. To renew a subscription or become a subscriber, visit ArshtCenter.org or call the Adrienne Arsht Center box office at 305.949.6722. The deadline to renew a subscription is July 28, 2025. Tickets for individual performances will be announced at a later date.
For guests with accessibility needs, the Arsht provides accessible seating and complimentary assistive listening devices for all performances, along with sign language interpretation, open captioning, and audio description at select shows to ensure an inclusive experience for all guests.
The 2025-26 Jazz Roots series is made possible with generous support from Baldwin Richardson Foods, Steinway & Sons and Alan & Diane Lieberman. WLRN and WDNA are media sponsors.
Also returning for the 2025-26 season is the Jazz Roots Sound Check education program. A part of the Jazz Roots series from its inception in 2008, Jazz Roots Sound Check welcomes high school students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools to the Knight Concert Hall for free sound checks, lectures and, on occasion, opportunities to perform with headline artists from the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Jazz Roots concert series. Jazz Roots Sound Check is presented by Baldwin Richardson Foods and made possible in part by Hazel Rosen and Melanie & Martin Kirschner.
The 2025-26 Jazz Roots subscription series at the Arsht is as follows:
Kind of Blue: Celebrating the Music of Miles Davis, Featuring Ravi Coltrane, Ambrose Akinmusire and Veronica Swift with Shelly Berg and the Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra and resident conductor Scott Flavin on November 7, 2025 at 8 p.m. at the Knight Concert Hall. 2026 marks 100 years since the birth of Miles Davis, one of the greatest innovators in jazz history. This concert celebrates his unparalleled and beloved legacy including Sketches of Spain, Tutu and the advent of jazz rock, The Birth of the Cool, and the most famous jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire (@ambroseire) and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane (@ravicoltranemusic), both Grammy winners, will pay tribute to the magical pairing of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, alongside vocalist Veronica Swift (veronicaswift.com) and the Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.
An Evening With Samara Joy on February 12, 2026 at 8 p.m. at the Knight Concert Hall. Five-time Grammy winner Samara Joy has been called a “classic jazz singer from a new generation” (NPR). A native of the Bronx, she is a masterful interpreter of jazz standards and an heiress of the sound, technique and charisma that defined her jazz heroines, who include Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae. A multiple Grammy Award winner, Samara Joy released her most recent album, Portrait, in 2024. The album, which earned Joy a 2025 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album, spotlights her lyrical gifts in ingenious arrangements that meld her thoughtful words with music by Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and her late mentor Barry Harris.
Terence Blanchard – photo courtesy artist management
Malcolm X Jazz Suite Featuring Terence Blanchard, The E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet on February 20, 2026 at 8 p.m. at the Knight Concert Hall. In celebration of the centennial of human rights and civil rights icon Malcolm X, NEA Jazz Master Terence Blanchard will perform his iconic Malcolm X Jazz Suite with his band, The E-Collective, and Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet. Blanchard created the project following the release of Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic Malcolm X, for which Blanchard wrote the score and performed most of the trumpet cues. A reworking of the score for quintet, the Jazz Suite has been updated and expanded and has rippled through Blanchard’s work for the past three decades.
Sheila E – Photo courtesy artist management
An Evening with Sheila E. on April 17, 2026 at 8 p.m. at the Knight Concert Hall. Grammy winner Sheila E., known as the “Queen of Percussion,” is a music luminary whose career includes being the first female percussionist honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Growing up in a musical Bay Area family, she drew influences from her father “The Legendary Pete Escovedo” and godfather Tito Puente, leading to collaborations with icons like Prince, Diana Ross, Herbie Hancock, and Beyoncé, and crafting hits like her Grammy-nominated “The Glamorous Life.” Recently, she celebrated her first-ever salsa album ‘Bailar,’ featuring collaborations with Gloria Estefan and Ruben Blades among others, earning her a Grammy win for Best Global Music Performance while continuing to inspire with her dynamic artistry and philanthropic work.
Emmet Cohen’s “Live from Emmet’s Place” on May 8, 2026 at 8 p.m. at the Knight Concert Hall. Miami-born pianist and Frost School of Music alum Emmet Cohen created the wildly popular “Live from Emmet’s Place” livestream series during the pandemic, bringing world-class jazz into homes. Cohen and his trio recreate the magic live on stage, transforming the Knight Concert Hall into a vibrant, living-room-style jam session complete with spontaneous energy, top-tier musicianship, and surprise guest artists. Inspired by the spirit of Harlem rent parties, this show invites audiences to feel like they’re right back in Cohen’s New York apartment.
*All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Additional fees may apply. Visit ArshtCenter.org for up-to-date information.
Emmet Cohen – Photo courtesy artist management
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations.
