BLU Jazz+'s Upcoming Shows

Rust-belt jazz guitarist, Adam Bronstein, brings his polished licks to Blu Jazz+ with the (AB)trio! For fans of: Julian Lage, Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, and John Scofield. Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission About: Adam Bronstein is a guitar player from Buffalo, NY known for his clever songwriting and playful improvisation. Focusing on guitar at the forefront of its sound, his music is instrumental with influences ranging from bebop through fusion, soul-jazz & psychedelia. Adam has released 3 studio albums in the past two years: Intention/Invention (Nov 2022), ABtrio (Dec. 2023); & most recently Jazz ≠ Jazz (Aug 2024) as well as a live release “Live at Black Dots” (Feb 2024). Between touring with Louis Prima Jr & The Witnesses, as well as the soul jazz quintet Ellen Pieroni and The Encyclopedia of Soul Adam has taken his trio (aptly named ABtrio) on four separate independent tours across the Northeast and midwest United States, planning a fifth and sixth this spring and summer. Adam was nominated “BEST JAZZ GUITARIST” and ABtrio nominated “BEST JAZZ RELEASE” in the 2024 Jazz Buffalo Readers Poll and Adam has shared bills with Samara Joy, Pasquale Grasso, Charlie Balentine, Ghost Note, Paris Monster, Lespecial & more. 

Join us as we celebrate and pay tribute to one of the greatest saxophonists in jazz history. The night will feature music off of Joe Henderson’s album In N’ Out and Larry Young’s album Unity, in sequential as the songs are presenting on the records.  If you are a lover of Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones, Woody Shaw, Kenny Dorham, Larry Young, or McCoy Tyner you will not want to miss this amazing show! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: General Admission ($20 in advance, $25 day of show) Featuring:  Max Schlenk: Tenor Saxophone  Garrett Folger: Trumpet  Dave Thomas: Organ  Zaire Darden: Drums 

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. 

Please give us a call at 330-302-8127 or email at info@blujazzakron.com if interested in booking the club for your own event! - 150 person capacity - In house food catering and full service bar options available - Great space for holiday/work/birthday parties, wedding receptions, networking events, etc. - Can provide live entertainment! 

Cleveland based rockers and psychonauts, Oregon Space Trail of Doom, bring their jazz outfit to Akron, for their debut at BLU! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: General Admission ($20 in advance, $25 day of show) About: In a land that never was, housed four people that never were. Drifting on the light waves of ghost stars, these cosmic cowboys have but one intention: to create a musical score for the impending interstellar apocalypse. Ryan Fletterick- Guitar Nicholas Yanosko- Bass Nolan Cavano- Guitar Tony Kazel- Drums 

NYC, Alto-saxophonist, composer, and educator, David Bixler, brings his Trio Incognito to BLU Jazz+ on Thursday, April 30th! Featuring Dan Loomis (bass) and Fabio Rojas (percussion). Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission About: After moving to NYC thirty years ago, saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler cut his teeth touring the world with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Toshiko Akioshi. He later joined the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Big Band, with whom he played a decade-long residency of Sunday evenings at Birdland and won a LATIN GRAMMY for the recording, Final Night at Birdland. The passage of time encompassed a twelve year period of managing his son’s health issues which caused a humbling reboot to his priorities in life and the role of music in it. In the summer of 2016, after reevaluating his circumstances he recorded In the Face of Chaos (2019) with Bixler, Boccato, Cowherd, and Sturm, Blended Lineage (2020) with the Bixtet, and Inside the Grief (2020) with trio incognito. His latest project, THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT vol. 1, which PARIS-MOVE describes as "a touch of genius" is a new recording featuring music inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes.. Bixler is the host of LINER NOTES with David Bixler, a podcast centered on conversations with jazz musicians. He also serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. As both a Selmer and Vandoren Artist he is active as a clinician and performer throughout the world. 

Domashi is a new supergroup forged by bassist Ben Chilbert of The Pickle Mafia, uniting standout players, guitarist Sage Bishop and drummer James Ralls into one unstoppable sonic force. Blending jazz fusion, psychedelic prog, metal grit, funk groove, and free-flowing jam energy, Every set hits like a controlled detonation—precision meets chaos, built to keep minds spinning and bodies moving. Join us for their debut at BLU Jazz+ on Friday, May 1st! Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: $20 General Admission 

The Stix Quintet returns to BLU , Saturday, May 2nd! Featuring: Steve Kortyka - tenor saxophone Alexander Thiam - alto saxophone Taylor Arbogast - bass Ming Hou - piano Doors: 7:00pm Show: 8:00pm Tickets: General Admission ($20 in advance, $25 at door) The Stix Quintet, led by Nehemiah (Stix) Baker, combines elements of neo soul, funk and R&B into a sound tapestry that brings out infectious grooves and danceable rhythms to get you up out your seat. 

Join us, parents and friends, as we welcome students from Jackson High School to the stage at Blu Jazz! Doors: 6:00pm Show: 7:00pm Tickets: $10 General Admission Thank you for supporting Jackson High School Jazz Ensemble!