46th Annual North Carolina Jazz Festival at North Carolina Jazz Festival at Hotel Ballast

One of the oldest Traditional Jazz Festivals in the country, the North Carolina Jazz Festival celebrates its 46th anniversary, February 2026. The event features internationally renowned musicians from the US, Australia, and Italy.
Music starts each night at 7:30PM, wraps 12 Midnight
Thursday Night Showcase, Our Special Event night opens with the Benny Hill Quartet, with Benny Hill on sax, Brad Merrritt on piano, Doug Irving on bass, and Jon Hill on drums
The main event for the evening showcases Noel Freidline and Maria Howell, who define chemistry, musically breathing as one as they explore and re-interpret some of the best music of the last 80 years. ...

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One of the oldest Traditional Jazz Festivals in the country, the North Carolina Jazz Festival celebrates its 46th anniversary, February 2026. The event features internationally renowned musicians from the US, Australia, and Italy.
Music starts each night at 7:30PM, wraps 12 Midnight
Thursday Night Showcase, Our Special Event night opens with the Benny Hill Quartet, with Benny Hill on sax, Brad Merrritt on piano, Doug Irving on bass, and Jon Hill on drums
The main event for the evening showcases Noel Freidline and Maria Howell, who define chemistry, musically breathing as one as they explore and re-interpret some of the best music of the last 80 years.
The evening will close with some of our weekend All-Stars in a Traditional Jazz Jam.
Friday and Saturday Nights
We continue our celebration with 14 All-Star musicians playing in the traditional seven sets of six or seven players, each set with a different leader.

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