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 at the Bistro and at our cashless bars. 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.
About Sarasota Jazz Project

Jazz Thursday featuring Sarasota Jazz Project

Thursday, November 13, 2025

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 in advance or $30 at the door for Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum admission)

 

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, co-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 10

Jazz Thursdays
About The Barker Project Holiday Show

Jazz Thursday featuring The Barker Project Holiday Show

Thursday, December 18, 2025

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 in advance or $30 at the door for Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum admission)

 

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, co-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 14

About Robert Nissim's Post-bop Quintet Group photo

Jazz Thursday featuring Robert Nissim’s Post-bop Quintet

Thursday, January 8, 2026

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 in advance or $30 at the door for Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum admission)

 

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, co-hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring Robert Nissim’s Post-bop Quintet, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Tickets will be available for purchase on December 19

Pianist Robert Nissim (from Sarasota) is launching a brand-new project, after three years directing Sarasota Fusion, a 1980s jazz fusion revival band co-founded with bassist Cameron Kayne. Robert is now going deep into acoustic jazz, exploring a genre that mixes elements of bebop, hard-bop, and modal jazz. The repertoire will range from re-imagined New Orleans “second line” to fast-paced mixed-meter extravaganzas, with driving swing or Latin grooves as the main ingredient. The band comprises some of the best local musicians, including Cameron Kayne (from Englewood) on bass, Bill E. Peterson (from Naples) on drums, Colin Leonard (from Sarasota) on saxophones, and Carl Fischer on the trumpet. The band looks forward to filling the air with beautiful and exciting music!

Jazz Thursday featuring Allison Nash & Friends

Thursday, February 12, 2026

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 in advance or $30 at the door for Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum admission)

 

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, co-hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring Allison Nash & Friends, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Tickets will be available for purchase on January 9

Allison Nash is known to immediately captivate an audience with her powerful, soulful, and versatile voice. Her sound stirs emotions and brings music to life. She’s a natural talent, though not lacking in experience, performing both locally and overseas. She’s a gem, quickly gaining a following of those who hear her sing. She currently resides in St Petersburg, FL.

Group Shot of hot Club SRQ performing

Jazz Thursday featuring Hot Club SRQ

Thursday, March 5, 2026

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 in advance or $30 at the door for Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum admission)

 

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

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

Tickets will be available for purchase on February 13

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 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 for dances from Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, an Appalachian arrangement, and a Broadway-themed performance at the Straz Center in Tampa.

Sarasota Art Museum Logo

Jazz Thursday featuring The Suncoast Jazz Ambassadors Big Band

Thursday, April 9, 2026

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 in advance or $30 at the door for Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum admission)

 

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, co-hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, featuring The Suncoast Jazz Ambassadors Big Band, and extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Tickets will be available for purchase on March 6

The Suncoast Jazz Ambassadors Big Band is led by its outstanding director, David DeWitt. A jazz orchestra instrumented in the style of the American “Big Band Era,” they comprise outstanding volunteer musicians from throughout Florida’s Suncoast, with roots and experience from literally every corner of our nation. 2025/26 will be their 39th year.

Their performances are as varied as the experiences of their members, with literature selected from the past century and half of our nation’s jazz history. This ranges from iconic arrangements from Duke Ellington and Count Basie, to developments of legendary band leaders like Stan Kenton and Woody Herman, to the contemporary sounds of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band and the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Barbara King Black and White profile picture

Jazz Thursday featuring Barbara King and The Spirit of Jazz

Thursday, May 14, 2026

5:30 pm - 8 pm

Free for Members | $25 in advance or $30 at the door for Not-Yet Members
(includes Museum admission)

 

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza

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

Tickets will be available for purchase on April 10

Brooklyn native Barbara King was introduced to jazz at an early age and has performed for audiences in Greece; Italy, Japan, Dubai and Eastern Europe; Cuba’s Havana International Jazz Festival, Jamaica, West Indies, and of course in New York City.  Notable venues include Birdland, The Iridium, Brownstone Jazz, The Water Club, Sweet Rhythm, Tavern on the Green, Minton’s, Jazz Standard, The Kitano, Philadelphia’s Chris’ Jazz Café, and she was a regular at the legendary Lenox Lounge in Harlem. Barbara was the co-owner and musical director of the Sound Bite Restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, a jazz and blues venue that attracted many of the country’s top musicians.

 

Her television appearances include WNBC Weekend Today in New York, Fox & Friends Weekend, and Brooklyn Cable Access Television (BCAT), to name a few.  She has also been invited twice to perform at the Smithsonian Institute’s Anacostia Museum – giving presentations on “The Ladies of Jazz” and a “Tribute to Sarah Vaughan”. Her debut CD, Perfect Timing, has earned critical acclaim with a combination of popular tunes and original compositions. Since relocating to Sarasota a year ago, Barbara has been actively engaged in the music scene locally and in surrounding areas in Southwest Florida. She performed in the Sarasota Jazz Festival, the Swan City Jazz Festival, and at Florida Studio Theatre in Downtown Sarasota, The Grill at 1951 in Port Charlotte, and for a host of private events. Barbara has often been compared to the legendary Sarah Vaughan, but definitely has a style all her own.

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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 10

 

About The Barker Project Holiday Show

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 14