Jazz Thursdays

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Sip on refreshing cocktails and enjoy small bites in the Bistro. Each second Thursday of the month features a different style of jazz–from straight-ahead to free jazz, bebop to swing–programmed in partnership with Jazz Club of Sarasota. Galleries are open until 7 pm on Jazz Thursdays.

Jazz Thursdays

Jazz Thursday activities:

  • Enjoy a performance from our Featured Band on the Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza from 5:30 pm to 8 pm.
  • Grab dinner and drinks at Bistro, which opens at 5 pm, serving a special evening menu, beer, wine, and cocktails.
  • Explore the exhibitions in our galleries, with hours extended to 7 pm.
  • Treasure hunt in SHOP all evening!

CHECK-IN
Check-in will take place outside of the main gates beginning
at 4:30 pm – early entry will not be permitted.

 

For guest safety, personal chairs are not permitted on-site.

 

FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Food and Beverage are available for purchase on-site through the Bistro. Please refrain from bringing outside food and beverage.

 

Members always receive their 10% discount in SHOP.
Members receive their 10% discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages in Bistro.

Purchase your tickets to our next Jazz Thursday!

We look forward to seeing you tonight for Jazz Thursday, featuring Michael Ross Quartet! Due to very high winds, tonight’s event will be moved indoors.

As this reduces our seating capacity, we ask that you please notify us in advance if you would like to cancel your ticket — or you may cancel it directly through Eventbrite.

Seating will be available in McGuire Hall and Bistro on a first-come, first-served basis.

Check-in begins at 4:30 pm (earlier entry will not be permitted), and the Bistro/bars and seating open at 5 pm.
For guest safety, personal chairs are not permitted on-site

Food and Beverage are available for purchase on-site through the Bistro. Please refrain from bringing outside food and beverage.

Jazz Thursday featuring Sarasota Jazz Project

Thursday, November 14, 2024

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum Admission)

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring Sarasota Jazz Project, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Tickets will be available for purchase on October 11

About Sarasota Jazz Project
Jazz Thursdays
About The Barker Project

Jazz Thursday featuring The Barker Project Holiday Show

Thursday, December 19, 2024

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum Admission)

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring The Barker Project Holiday Show, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Tickets will be available for purchase on November 15

Group Shot of hot Club SRQ performing
About Hot Club SRQ

Jazz Thursday featuring Hot Club SRQ

Thursday, January 9, 2025

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum Admission)

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring Hot Club SRQ, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

About Michael Ross and Company

Jazz Thursday featuring Michael Ross and Company

Thursday, February 13, 2025

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $20 Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum Admission)

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring Michael Ross and Company, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Tickets will be available for purchase on January 10

About Friends of Fil Organ Trio

Jazz Thursday featuring Friends of Fil Organ Trio

Thursday, April 10, 2025

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum Admission)

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring Friends of Fil Organ Trio, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Tickets will be available for purchase on March 14

About Darcie Allen
and the Five Points Quintet

Jazz Thursday featuring Darcie Allen and the Five Points Quintet

Thursday, May 8, 2025

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum Admission)

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring Darcie Allen and the Five Points Quintet, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Other Programs

Weekly Programs

View all Programs

© Sarasota Art Museum 2025

About Sarasota Jazz Project

Sarasota Jazz Project is a high energy 17-piece jazz ensemble comprised of some of the finest musicians on the West Coast of Florida. These talented all-stars play both original compositions and standard tunes, creatively arranged in a unique contemporary Big Band style. Whether you dance, or listen or both, be prepared to be thoroughly entertained. The Sarasota Jazz Project Big Band performs at jazz concerts, clubs, schools/universities, private clubs, and Jazz Club of Sarasota events throughout the year.

 

Sarasota Jazz Project is a 17-piece Big Band dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and public performance of big band jazz music in Sarasota and the neighboring communities in the state of Florida. Founded in February 2010 by George McLean and George McLain (no relation!), the band is comprised of the best available local musicians, including professional jazz musicians with long resumes and careers in performing with top-name bands and jazz musicians throughout the world. Members also include local music teachers and educators; working musicians who perform regularly in local theaters, orchestras and cabaret venues; and other serious local musicians who maintain “day jobs” and play jazz for the sheer pleasure and exhilaration of being part of this true American art form.

 

While respecting and performing music of great big bands of the past led by such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Glen Miller, the Sarasota Jazz Project emphasizes the work of modern composers and arrangers such as Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Quincy Jones, and Gil Evans. Perhaps the most distinctive element of the Sarasota Jazz Project repertoire is its great collection of popular music and standards arranged in new and exciting jazz settings by the very best current musical arrangers in the world, including George Stone, Brad Morey, Gary Urwin, Ed Vizinho, Don Schamber and John Clayton.

Tickets will be available for purchase on October 11

About The Barker Project

Celebrate the Holidays with Seasonal favorites by The Barker Project – a Sarasota-based fusion band under the musical direction of Johnnie Barker. Since studying at Berklee College of Music, locally renowned Tampa Bay area bassist, Johnnie has assembled an array of his talented friends and colleagues that include musicians from all around the nation. With their roots in Jazz, they blend Funk, Rock, Blues, & Gospel into what makes the musical gumbo that makes the sound of The Barker Project. Their creative interpretations of well-known songs, as well as their original music, are a thrill for audiences throughout the region.

Tickets will be available for purchase on November 15

About Hot Club SRQ

The heart of this ensemble is the violin and vocals of Keven Aland, the guitar of Jon McLaughlin and bass playing of Glenn Stevenson. Their string jazz ensemble has been thoughtfully cultivated and crafted for over a decade. There is a genuine warmth and connection that is unique to this ensemble. This group can swing ferociously then suddenly hypnotize you with a beautiful ballad.

Beyond the genre of Gypsy Jazz, their vast repertoire includes Rumba Flamenco, Bossanova, Samba, Tango, BeBop, Modern Jazz, swing, Afro Cuban and the great American songbook. All members of HCSRQ have education backgrounds in Music Performance and have been commissioned to write, arrange and perform a variety of world music over the years including dances from Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, an Appalachian arrangement and a “Broadway” themed performance at the Straz Center in Tampa.

Tickets will be available for purchase on December 13

About Michael Ross and Company

Bassist and Composer Michael Ross continues to captivate audiences with his exceptional skill and dedication to musical excellence. Within the vibrant music scene of Tampa Bay, Michael assumed leadership roles in two renowned and award-winning groups, Liquid Bebop and later the Michael Ross Quartet. Their albums, including “Doghouse” (2000), “Dog Eat Dog” (2002), “Year of the Dog” (2004), and his album “Ginger” (2014), stand as testament to their masterful fusion of genres. His latest work, “Giraffe” (2023), featuring a mix of new original material and his fresh take on jazz classics, is a testament to his unyielding passion for musical exploration.

Collaborating as a side-man with esteemed musicians such as Nat Adderley, Jimmie Cobb, Herbie Mann, Nathen Page, and countless others, Michael has left an indelible mark on the musical landscapes of Florida and the southern region of the U.S.

Embarking on his latest creative journey, the artist finds himself immersed in a captivating artistic collaboration with the vocalist, Fred Johnson. Powered by collective imagination and fueled by audience input, their performances are a mesmerizing display of raw improvisation. Every note, lyric, and rhythm springs to life in the moment, leaving spectators awe-inspired and longing for more.

Michael’s artistic journey is defined by his unwavering passion, visionary approach, and a spirit that continues to captivate the realm of music. With each composition and performance, he invites audiences onto his musical voyage, where new realms of possibility unfold.

Tickets will be available for purchase on January 10

About The Simon Lasky Group

British composer/pianist, Simon Lasky, is known on both sides of the Atlantic for his expansive and melodic jazz compositions and arrangements which draw on his background as an improvising pianist and classically trained composer. Born in London, but now living in Central Florida, Simon’s composition ‘Close To Ecstasy’ won the 2018 Ivors Composer Award in the ‘Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble’ category. Upon receiving the award, BBC Radio 3 presenter Andrew McGregor described the winning composition as “a joyous exuberant piece, brilliantly crafted on all levels, and with great textural and melodic writing.” In 2019 Simon was awarded a Fellowship to complete his Masters in Jazz Studies at The University of South Florida, working as assistant to five-time GRAMMY nominated jazz composer Chuck Owen.

As a recording artist, Simon signed with independent British jazz label – ‘33Jazz’ Records – in 2015, releasing two albums of his own compositions under the Simon Lasky Group banner. His music has been broadcast extensively on BBC Radio in the U.K and on NPR and the CBC in North America, and his compositions for the concert platform have been performed in London’s Barbican Hall, South Bank Centre and St John’s Smith Square. Simon’s arrangement of ‘Over The Rainbow’ for string quartet was performed by The Afiara Quartet in London’s Wigmore Hall in 2015, and subsequently in 15 countries across the globe.

An in-demand member of the London jazz scene for 15 years, Simon taught jazz piano, composition, harmony and General Musicianship at Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban) in London from 2005-2018. He was Head of Jazz at Bradfield College during the same period. He currently lives in Tampa, FL working as a pianist and band leader on the Central FL jazz scene and as an NPR jazz host 3 nights a week on WUSF 89.7FM

Tickets will be available for purchase on February 14

About Friends of Fil Organ Trio

Performing all over Tampa Bay and throughout the state of Florida for the past 15 years, Friends of Fil combines straight-ahead Jazz performances with Fusion and Festival music to keep the sound of Soul cookin’!

 

Fil Organ Trio features powerhouse organist Casey Otto on Hammond with full Leslie speaker and foot pedals; Albert “Newbeat” Warren laying down the groove and swing beats on the drums, along with Fil Pate on Electric Guitar – adding dense textures and soaring solos!

Tickets will be available for purchase on March 14

About Darcie Allen and the Five Points Quintet

Five Points Quintet is Sarasota’s newest elegant entertainment ensemble. The group features Sarasota vocalist Darcie Allen and includes Marc Mannino on Guitar, Pete Carney on Saxes, Bob Lunergan on Drums and Peter Innocenti on Bass. The group was formed to fill the need for posh events, concerts, and elegant dining. The music is diverse in nature with a jazz and an adult contemporary format.

Named after Sarasota’s landmark Five Points intersection location, the group is poised to fill the area’s growing need for sophisticated music.