Guitarist, Andy Bianco returns to Akron via New York City with his trio! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission About: Andy Bianco, a jazz artist, composer, educator, and advocate hailing from New York City, boasts an impressive career that spans performances with renowned artists such as Angie Stone, Deborah Cox, Kandace Springs, Ray Chew, Elle Varner, and Bob Moses. His musical journey has graced esteemed venues worldwide, including ABC Television's Good Morning America, Billboard Live Osaka/Tokyo, The Howard Theater, Blues Alley, and The Blue Note, among others. As the guitarist for Grammy-winning R&B artist Elle Varner, Andy has toured extensively across the USA and Japan, leaving an indelible mark on stages like the Essence Festivals in New Orleans, the BET Awards, and the Richmond Jazz Festival. His prowess as a performer extends to prestigious jazz hotspots, including Chris' Jazz Cafe, Smoke Jazz Club, and The Zinc Bar. Highlighted by press reviews praising his "deliciously dynamic jazz" and the triumph-over-adversity theme in "NYC Stories," Andy continues to craft stories through his music. His guitar work has been described as having a "fantastic sound & boundless imagination & fire" by jazz guitar masters Peter Bernstein and Ben Monder. 

Ben Tweedt and his jazz trio return from Cincinatti, for a special night at Blu Jazz! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission Featuring: Ben Tweedt - Piano Justin Dawson - Bass Phillip Tipton - Drums Ben Tweedt is an in-demand pianist, keyboardist, arranger, and composer based in the Cincinnati area. He performs regularly with some of the country's most sought-after jazz and session musicians including Walfredo Reyes, Jr., Jamey Haddad, and Dan Wilson. His trio project is a culmination of years of work on original compositions influenced by American jazz and folk music, Latin American music, gospel music, and more. Ben's debut trio album, Life Cycle, is out on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms. 

Recently voted as #19 on All About Jazz’s “Favorite Living Saxophonists” poll for 2024, native NE Ohio fusion saxophonist Matthew Alec and his high-octane, 7-piece jazz-pop supergroup The Soul Electric make their debut at Blu Jazz+ celebrating the release of their 4th album, A Bad Rep in the Rubber City on Cleveland Time Records! Featuring: Matthew Alec – tenor saxophone Greg Banaszak – alto saxophone Brian Woods – piano/vocals Corey Conway – guitar/vocals Miguel Tarin Torres – bass Drew Parent – percussion The Franchise – drums Minus the Alien – vocals Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission 

Join us for our continued bi-weekly Tuesday night blues jam session tradition, hosted by NE Ohio all-star blues musicians John Markovic, Ryan Neuman, & Erik Diaz! Bring your axe or horn & wail the blues as part of this ongoing musical series at BLU! The “BLUesday Tuesday” Blues Jam band carries 60+ years of combined experience in and around the Greater Akron Blues scene. They enjoy blending their deep roots & varied influences to bring hot, stylish electric blues to the stage – always listening, always feeding off each other’s energy and always laying down soulful, groove-laden blues with feeling. Doors: 6:00pm Show: 7:00pm *Free Admission* Under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. 

Experience the electrifying fusion of jazz innovation and elemental inspiration as saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Stephen Philip Harvey takes the stage with his acclaimed Stephen Philip Harvey Octet (SPH8). Join us for a dynamic double set of music—celebrating where this boundary-pushing ensemble has been and where it’s headed next. Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission About: Set One – Elemental (Live) Vinyl Release Originally composed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Elemental (Live) is a powerful suite inspired by the classical elements—fire, air, water, and earth. With Harvey’s signature blend of modern harmony and cinematic texture, the music captures the forces of nature through a uniquely personal lens. While released digitally in May 2024, this special performance celebrates its new vinyl edition, arriving just ahead of Harvey’s next large ensemble album, Multiversal: Live at Bop Stop. Early copies of Multiversal will be available for purchase at the show before its worldwide release on August 22. Set Two – The Pen is Mightier Premiere Be the first to hear Harvey’s latest work for octet: The Pen is Mightier, an eight-movement suite inspired by seminal voices in Black American literature. Drawing from the writings of Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, August Wilson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Amanda Gorman, and others, this deeply resonant piece pays tribute to the authors who shaped—and continue to shape—the narrative of Black life in America. This premiere performance leads into the ensemble’s upcoming studio recording of the suite. 

Bond is Back! The Dave Banks Big Band returns to BLUJazz with their "Spies in the Night: The Music of 007 Show, one of Tony's favorites! From "Goldfinger to "No Time To Die," the iconic theme music from the James Bond Movies as well as other famous crime fighters fits perfectly in a jazz big band setting. This show features Sandra Montevideo on vocals and we promise this music will "shake AND stir" you! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $30 General Admission 

Join us, August 8th, as we welcome our friends, Sunny Side, for a night of high energy New Orleans jazz! Doors: 6:00pm Show: 7:00pm Tickets: $25 General Admission Sunny Side is a jazz band based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. They are heavily influenced by the music of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Fats Waller, and many other early jazz legends. The band name ‘Sunny Side’ was influenced by the 1930 Fats Waller/Jimmy McHugh jazz standard ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’. The band was created in 2019, and is composed of musicians that have played together in various jazz projects around New Orleans since 2017. Sunny Side provides a full New Orleans style jazz band experience with 3 part harmonies, a solid rhythm section, and an energetic vocalist and dancer. Expect to become a part of the experience as Sunny Side engages with the energy and sound of what makes New Orleans such a special city. Be prepared to dance and sing. 

Bassist and composer Eli Leder brings his trio for their BLU Jazz+ debut, featuring local legend saxophonist Chris Coles! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission Eli Leder leads an exciting young trio that has made a niche in the Cleveland jazz scene. Eli met pianist Liam Speaks and drummer Stix Baker through the Tri-C JazzFest Academy precollege program, and they have all been both friends and collaborators ever since. They have had notable performances at the BOP STOP, Maltz Performing Arts Center (opening for bassist Christian McBride), and the recent 2025 Tri-C JazzFest. This will be one of their last performance until the winter break, and their first performance with their shared mentor Chris Coles, so this will be a show you do not want to miss! Eli Leder is a bassist, arranger, and composer from the Cleveland area. He currently studies Jazz Bass Performance at William Paterson University, 20 miles outside New York City. There, he has the opportunity to study under seasoned NYC professionals, most notably program director Bill Charlap and veteran bassist Marcus McLaurine.  Eli treats music as exploratory, searching for new sounds and considering all genres. You may catch him playing Baroque string music, bluegrass, 2010s pop, and straight-ahead swing all in one week. He synthesizes all of his experiences into both his bass playing and writing.  Liam Speaks is a multi-instrumentalist and self-taught producer/composer from Cleveland, currently studying Contemporary Music & Digital Instruments at Ohio University. He has honed in on his jazz piano skills from a young age, and is currently a part of several musical groups that span from jazz to fusion to rock. Apart from piano and bands, he composes/produces original alternative music under the name Voxglove, the musical space that’s most his own. Nehemiah Stix Baker is a prodigious 19-year-old musician from Northeast Ohio, captivating audiences with his exceptional drumming, composition, and leadership skills. Emerging from Cleveland’s vibrant music scene, Stix has rapidly established himself as a rising star in the music world. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, saxophonist Christopher J. Coles is based in the Greater Akron area. He serves on the faculty of the University of Akron as Assistant Professor of Practice in Jazz Studies. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in performance from Youngstown State University, where he studied extensively with James Umble, Kent Englehardt and David Morgan and a master’s degree in performance from the University of Akron. At the 2015 Banff Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music, Chris had the distinct honor of studying with many influential jazz pioneers, including Vijay Iyer, Mark Turner, Imani Izuri, Tia Fuller, Billy Hart, Ingrid Jensen, Zakir Hussain, Somi, Vosany Terry and Miles Okazaki, among others. Chris was a winner of the 2017 Knight Foundation Arts Challenge in Akron, Ohio for his composition “Nine Lives.” “Nine Lives” was written in 2015 in memory of the nine lives lost at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This work is about 40 minutes and features other art forms such as dance, animation and spoken word. 

Join us for our continued bi-weekly Tuesday night blues jam session tradition, hosted by NE Ohio all-star blues musicians John Markovic, Ryan Neuman, & Erik Diaz! Bring your axe or horn & wail the blues as part of this ongoing musical series at BLU! The “BLUesday Tuesday” Blues Jam band carries 60+ years of combined experience in and around the Greater Akron Blues scene. They enjoy blending their deep roots & varied influences to bring hot, stylish electric blues to the stage – always listening, always feeding off each other’s energy and always laying down soulful, groove-laden blues with feeling. Doors: 6:00pm Show: 7:00pm *Free Admission* Under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. 

Join us for an uplifting Thursday night of Gospel Jazz, featuring the humble yet prestigious powerhouse vocalist and keyboardist, Doobie Powell! Doors: 6:00pm Show: 7:00pm-10:00pm General Admission: $30 VIP Experience: $150 - Available for purchase at door. Ticket includes access to concert, merch and meet and greet. As a performer, Doobie's live shows have become legendary, combining powerful vocals with an electrifying stage presence that transforms venues into sanctuaries of soul. His performances, marked by dynamic live arrangements and unexpected musical turns, seamlessly blend gospel, jazz, R&B, and contemporary soul, consistently drawing diverse audiences seeking authentic musical experiences. 

Meet "Aaron Smith & RDAA," a dynamic band founded by drummer, Aaron Smith, driven by a passion for original jazz, fusion, and soul music. Hailing from the Midwest, with roots in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky, the band has captivated audiences in cities like Cleveland, Akron, Indianapolis, and Nashville. Their unique and inspiring sound, crafted by each member's distinct style, has garnered a growing fan base, with overwhelming love from audiences at every show! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $25 General Admission About: Aaron Smith is an independent artist who had a passion for music at a very early age. Born in Muncie Indiana he started playing by the age of two. Learning very quickly the concept of drumming he was soon playing drums consistently at church by age 6. By the time he was 10, Aaron was recording professionally. That gave him a platform to learn more and stretch his musical abilities. At 18 Aaron was traveling nationally playing for various gospel groups, touring and eventually was given the opportunity to teach drum clinics all over the U.S. Aaron transferred from Berklee College Of Music to Indiana University to finish his college degree in music. It was in that transition where his social media presence began to grow phenomenally and he started to teach what he knew on an international scale. He has played and recorded for a number of well-known groups and artists including Scott Guynn and Weapons, Brian Reeves & Heart After God, Doobie Powell, the widely popular Williams Singers, Funkyardx and The Franchize Band. Currently he is producing his first EP which will feature numerous independent artists to pay tribute to his hometown. He is looking forward to working with more national artists and using his social media influence to give back to the musical community by hosting drum clinics on a global scale.