Orlando Jazz Collective presents inaugural Orlando Jazz Festival March 21
Grammy Award-winning artists, local talent, vendors and more will be featured at the Mennello Museum of American Art
Get ready for *** day filled with jazz and feel-good experiences. The inaugural Orlando Jazz Festival is coming to Central Florida in just about 2 weeks. It’s all part of the Orlando Jazz Collective’s mission to elevate jazz culture while creating high quality experiences that connect artists and audiences here in our community. Joining us now here with your invitation is the collective’s president and festival executive director Jerry Jasmine. Jerry, welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Absolutely, it’s so good to see you. OK, so we go way back. I know Jerry’s wife. She’s *** wonderful Courtney Jasmine, who used to work here at Channel 2 in the sports department. OK, so Jerry, tell us, the Orlando Jazz Collective, what is it? The Orlando Jazz Collective is *** nonprofit. We started with the mission of curating, um, or cultivating *** strong contemporary jazz community here in Orlando. So I love that. That’s so exciting. OK, so tell me about this then, the, the, the jazz festival. What can people expect when they’re coming to this because this is the first time, right? Yes, yes, folks can expect anything you would expect at ***, uh, or, or experience at an Orlando. *** jazz collective event but elevated so you can expect high vibrations, high class, high level musicianship. We’ve blended national touring acts with uh local acts as well and it’s just gonna be *** great day filled with music, food, and just *** great time overall. I love it. OK, so tell us about the lineup then. So you’ve got some local artists, but you also have people coming in from around the world, right? Yes, yes, yes. We’re very proud of the lineup that we’ve been able to curate some of the artists we’ve worked with in the past, but some of them are new as well, and as well as, uh, some of, some local acts, some local standouts. So, um, our closers, Chief Awa, formerly known as Christian Scott, and Terence Martin together have about 14 Grammy nominations. So, you know, incredible lineup, stellar lineup. Theo Croker, who’s *** Leesburg native, he, um, he’s also Grammy. Nominated. He’s coming in. He’s flying in from Germany to stand on the stage in Orlando, so we’re exceptionally proud of the, the lineup that we’ve been able to curate here. Jerry, let me ask, how does this call come together because you’re starting this, you know, bottom up. So what, uh, what do you do? How does this start? It, it comes with *** lot of grit. It comes together with *** lot of grit, um, and community, you know, we really need the community to come together and, and support events like these so we can have them for years to come. Um, but you know, relationships with agents and artists and, and building that over time has given us the opportunity to say, hey, we want you to come here and play together on one stage for the city of Orlando. I love that. OK, tell me all the details. When is it? Where is it? All that good stuff. OK, taking place at the Manila Museum of American Art on the sculpture Garden. It’s gonna be very serene lakeside, and it’s starting on March 21st, and it’s gonna be *** day full of music, as we said, food vendors. Uh, other local vendors, and it’s gonna be an exceptional time. It’s gonna be great. I love it. Jerry, tell me why jazz? Why jazz? You know, jazz, um, it, it means *** lot to me, and it, it’s, uh, something I used to listen to growing up and, uh, I fell out of love with it, but it got me through grad school. It was really something that, um, allowed me to focus and, and stay calm during those, uh, high anxiety times. So I, I just love the art. I’m ***, I’m *** fan of it and I’m *** fan of, um, what it means for. For um for Orlando and let me ask you this because I know you’re also *** father, what are you hoping that kind of like the younger generation like come out to this and they take away from hearing that music and just being with the culture and, and really just kind of immersing themselves in it? Yeah, I, I, I really hope that the young, um, the younger generation can see that they actually do like jazz. I think jazz can be, it can feel unapproachable, but everyone loves jazz jazz is foundational to many different genres hip hop, funk, soul, gospel, even rock and. Lose. So my, you know, my goal is that the takeaway is that everyone comes, uh, leaves feeling better than they, better than they came in and with an understanding that they do love jazz and, um, with the, with the mission of continuing to listen to it. I love that. My dad always listened to BB King, you know what I mean? And you just, it does take you back to your childhood, you know, and everybody can, can relate. So Jerry, thank you so much. I wish you all the best in this. Thank you. Hopefully just the first of many years in *** row, right? That’s the goal. OK, that’s the goal. Jerry Jasmine, thank you so much for joining us.
Orlando Jazz Collective presents inaugural Orlando Jazz Festival March 21
Grammy Award-winning artists, local talent, vendors and more will be featured at the Mennello Museum of American Art
Updated: 10:15 AM EST Mar 5, 2026
The Orlando Jazz Collective presents its inaugural Orlando Jazz Festival on March 21 at the Mennello Museum of American Art. The nonprofit organization’s president and festival executive director, Jerry Jasmin, joins WESH 2 to preview the celebration of culture, creativity, and community. Tickets are now available for purchase. Click here to learn more.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The Orlando Jazz Collective presents its inaugural Orlando Jazz Festival on March 21 at the Mennello Museum of American Art.
The nonprofit organization’s president and festival executive director, Jerry Jasmin, joins WESH 2 to preview the celebration of culture, creativity, and community.
Tickets are now available for purchase.