About the Knoxville Jazz Festival

The Knoxville Jazz Festival was founded in 2006 as a collaboration between the Knox County Public Library and the renowned pianist, composer, and teacher, Donald Brown. Its mission is to foster an appreciation for two uniquely American contributions to the world: jazz and public libraries. To that end, the Knoxville Jazz Festival provides opportunities for students and professional musicians to work with jazz masters. It spotlights the many excellent jazz musicians in East Tennessee, and helps people to appreciate jazz and understand its importance to American culture.

As Artistic Director of the Knoxville Jazz Festival, Donald Brown has brought in an impressive array of internationally acclaimed musicians including Stephane Belmondo, Javon Jackson, Steve Nelson, Essiet Essiet, Nicholas Payton, Bobby Lyle, and Geoff Keezer. Mr. Brown has been called “a beam of bright talent on today’s jazz scene.” An award winning composer, his music is played throughout the world and he is an admired improviser and arranger. He is also a dedicated educator and serves as Associate Professor of Music at the University of Tennessee.

In addition to its annual festival, the KJF sponsors education programs throughout the year. JazzEd @ the Library includes a monthly concert series called After Hours @ the Library which gives students from the University of Tennessee’s Jazz Program opportunities to perform in a concert/club setting. They are joined by local jazz luminaries who talk about their lives in music and answer questions from the audience.

What is This Thing Called Jazz? is another program geared toward the layperson who is interested in learning more about how to listen to jazz and jazz history. It is taught by professors from the University of Tennessee’s Jazz Program.