Madison Jazz Festival

The festival is organized by Arts + Literature Laboratory in collaboration with the Madison Jazz Society, the Madison Music Collective and the Wisconsin Union Theater, an arrangement that pools the city's separate jazz organizations into one calendar. Venues range from Cafe CODA and the North Street Cabaret to Trinity United Methodist Church, the MMoCA auditorium, Allen Centennial Garden, Warner Park and Stone Horse Green in neighboring Middleton.

The program mixes free and ticketed events deliberately: free community shows such as the iGnitE Jazz Showcase, the Madison Jazz Jam and Orquesta SalSoul del Mad sit alongside ticketed concerts by the Alexander/McLean Project, Mathis Picard and the Richard Johnson Quartet. The largest draws are the two free nights on the Memorial Union Terrace, which in 2026 carried drummer Nate Smith on June 26 and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon on June 27, with the Madison High School Jazz All-Stars, Endea Owens and The Cookout and Ghost-Note also on those bills.