Governor's Mansion
606 Mountain St
Carson City, NV
The entertainment lineup of the Jazz & Beyond Music Festival will once again feature the Reno Jazz Orchestra, alongside other top local jazz talent.
This year, the RJO performs on opening night at the Governor's Mansion in Carson City.
Kantu Inka, a Peruvian and Latin American folk music group based in Reno, opens the Festival at 4:30 PM, followed by the RJO at 6:00 PM.
There will be a bar and food truck on site.
Quincy Jones' legacy is a gift of everlasting music that will be reignited by the Reno Jazz Orchestra. For seven decades, Quincy Jones's genius emerged as a master musician, composer, arranger and producer. His award-winning brilliance evolved performing with Lionel Hampton, traveling the world as Dizzy Gillespie's music director, arranging for Count Basie and Frank Sinatra and producing Lesley Gore's 1960s hits, Michael Jackson's greatest tunes and the historic recording "We Are the World."
July 21, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe State ParkJuly 22, 2025, at 6:00 pm
On the Quad, UNR
Morgan James will present her soulful connection to "The Music of Nina Simone" for a night of classic soul and jazz music through her sensational vocals noted by the New York Times as "soul deep." Rolling Stone magazine ranked Nina Simone as 'one of the greatest singers of all time." Simon's vibrant career will come to life through the sultry, sexy and striking vocal talents of Morgan James with Reno Jazz Orchestra's vibrant jazz and blues vibrations.
August 24, 2025, at 4:00 pm
Nightingale Concert HallAugust 25, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe State Park
The Reno Jazz Orchestra (RJO) will celebrate Donny Hathaway's 80th birthday with a special production, "Someday We Will All Be Free: The Genius of Donny Hathaway," on September 27 and 28, 2025, at the Nugget Celebrity Showroom in Sparks, NV.
Hathaway, a pivotal figure in 1970s soul music, was a gifted singer, pianist, and composer whose work blended gospel, jazz, and R&B, often carrying powerful messages about civil rights. This unique RJO production, led by Music Director Dr. Greg Johnson, will feature an expanded roster of artists, including a string orchestra, original arrangements, guest vocalists, and a gospel choir. The concert will showcase Hathaway's well-known songs in the first half, with material from his album Extensions of a Man in the second.
Community outreach for the event will begin in mid-2025, involving local school districts and offering free tickets to students. Donny Hathaway's daughter, Donnita Hathaway, director of the Donny Hathaway Legacy Project, will participate in these efforts. Her organization aims to support individuals struggling with mental health, a cause deeply personal to her given her father's battle with paranoid schizophrenia and his suicide in 1979. Cliff Porter, who also leads a local mental health non-profit, will join Donnita Hathaway in the community outreach. Donnita Hathaway established her project to acknowledge her father's musical contributions, address the issue of suicide among young Black individuals, and share her own journey of healing through holistic methods.
You will not want to miss this incredible event!
