1957
At Doc Ricketts’ Lab on Cannery Row (now known as the Pacific Biological Laboratories), members invite Jimmy Lyons to discuss the idea about a jazz festival in Monterey. Jimmy raises the money through $100 donations.
1958
Jimmy Lyons and jazz critic Ralph Gleason present the inaugural Monterey Jazz Festival, October 3-5. The festival is founded as a non-profit. Among the performers were Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, Cal Tjader, Harry James, and Billie Holiday, her only MJF performance.
1960
MJF is moved to the third full weekend in September. Performers include Ornette Coleman, Gerry Mulligan, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, and many others. Duke Ellington premieres “Suite Thursday” and Jon Hendricks premieres “Evolution of the Blues Song.”
1962
Dave Brubeck premieres “The Real Ambassadors” with Louis Armstrong and Carmen McRae. Quincy Jones and Stan Getz make their first MJF appearances.
1963
Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk make their first MJF appearances.
1965
John Handy records “Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival” and Mary Lou Williams makes her first of three MJF appearances.
1966
Jefferson Airplane, Muddy Waters, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Don Ellis, Randy Weston, and many others perform. Charles Lloyd records “Forest Flower” which becomes an iconic crossover hit album, and features his young sidemen Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette and Cecil McBee.
1967
Saturday afternoon blues show features T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Richie Havens, and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin.
1969
Miles Davis appears with his “Lost Quintet” with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette.
Sly and the Family Stone make their only appearance at MJF.
1970
Legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood films part of his iconic directorial debut, “Play Misty for Me” at the Monterey Jazz Festival.
1971
MJF presents the first annual winners of the Next Generation Jazz Festival, a student competition, and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra (NGJO), a high school all-star band.
1972
Herbie Hancock appears with his “Mwandishi” sextet and plays beyond his allotted time. The curtain is shut on him as they continue to play.
1975
MJF co-founder Ralph Gleason dies at age 58.
1977
MJF20. Gerald Wilson premieres “Happy Birthday Suite,” and George Duke premieres the “Contemporary Keyboard Suite.”
1982
MJF25. Performers include Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, Gerald Wilson, Cal Tjader, Etta James, Dave Brubeck, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others.
1983
MJF adds two additional stages, the Garden Stage and the Night Club. The Traveling Clinicians Program in local schools is created.
1984
MJF’s Summer Jazz Camp is established.
1986
MJF taped shows are accepted at Stanford University’s Archive of Recorded Sound.
1987
MJF30. Ray Charles, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Etta James, Toshiko Akiyoshi, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and many others perform.
1989
MJF experiences rain for the first time. MJF in Noto, Japan is established, and the students in the local county all-star bands and the NGJO begin to travel there annually to perform.
1992
MJF35. Jimmy Lyons retires as General Manager, and Tim Jackson takes over as GM and Artistic Director. Dizzy Gillespie appears for the last time, but he is too ill to play.
1994
The Artist-in-Residence and Commission programs are reintroduced with Bob Mintzer and James Williams acting as AIRs and Billy Childs as Commission Artist. Jimmy Lyons dies at age 77.
1995
Dizzy’s Den is added as a fourth venue at MJF, and the Arena stage is named the Jimmy Lyons Stage.
1996
Joshua Redman is the first MJF jazz education alumnus to be named Artist-in-Residence.
1997
MJF40. Diana Krall, Sonny Rollins, David Sanborn, Charlie Haden, Koko Taylor, and many others perform. The Coffee House Gallery is added as a fifth venue. A book, “Monterey Jazz Festival: Forty Legendary Years” is released along with a CD box set of archival recordings.
1998
Simulcasts from the Arena Stage are begun to be shown in the Jazz Theater.
1999
The Courtyard Stage is added as a seventh venue.
2005
Tony Bennett and Sharon Jones make MJF debuts. Carla Bley debuts “The Black Orchid” as the MJF48 commission piece. Mavis Staples, Christian McBride, and John Scofield also perform.
2006
Dave Brubeck premieres the “Cannery Row Suite,” a jazz opera based on John Steinbeck’s book.
2007
MJF50. Artists from the first MJF include Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, Jim Hall, Ernestine Anderson, and Buddy Montgomery. MJF Records is launched, featuring archive recordings from the festival and a coffee table book of artwork, “The Art of Jazz.”
2008
The MJF 50th Anniversary All-Stars’ national tour features James Moody, Terence Blanchard, Benny Green, and Nnenna Freelon. MJF51 performers include Herbie Hancock, Ledisi, Maceo Parker, Nancy Wilson, and Wayne Shorter.
2010
Trombone Shorty’s debut performance is one of the highlights of the festival. Harry Connick Jr. and Ahmad Jamal make their MJF debut. The MJF52 All-Stars make a national tour led Kurt Elling, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, and Russell Malone.
2013
MJF on Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration make a national tour, led by Dee Dee Bridgewater, Christian McBride, and Benny Green. Other artists include Buena Vista Social Club, George Benson, Gregory Porter, and Bobby McFerrin.
2016
Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour is led by Gerald Clayton, with Ravi Coltrane, Nicholas Payton and Raul Midón. Other performers include Jacob Collier, a tribute to Quincy Jones, and Kamasi Washington.
2017
John Clayton and Gerald Clayton, along with Jeff Hamilton, are the first parent-child Artists-in-Residence. John Clayton premieres “Stories of a Groove” as the MJF Commission. Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea play a set of duets. Roy Hargrove plays MJF for his final time.
2019
Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour features Cécile McLorin Salvant, Bria Skonberg, Melissa Aldana, Christian Sands, Yasushi Nakamura, and Jamison Ross.
2020
The Covid-19 pandemic forces Monterey Jazz Festival to have an online event on YouTube featuring archival footage. Donations made during the weekend are donated to the artists, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
2023
After 32 years, Tim Jackson steps down as Artistic Director. His successor, Darin Atwater, will program MJF67 in 2024 and is the first African American in the role.