PLOVDIV
JAZZ FEST SPRING EDITION21-25 03
2026

Tickets

Tickets for the concerts at the The Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis and the Cоncert Hall Art Academy Plovdiv are free of charge. Access to the concerts will be granted only with free tickets. People without tickets will be admitted if there are available seats.

Concerts
21. 03

Academic Jazz Band

20:30 pm / Bee Bop Cafe
Free entrance, no prior registration required

22. 03

Gretchen Parlato and Taylor Eigsti

19:30 pm / The Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis

Tickets
23. 03

David Linx with Acoustic Version and Peter Slavov

19:30 pm / The Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis

Tickets
24. 03

Peter Slavov Trio with Hristo Yotsov and Miroslav Turiyski

20:00 pm / Bee Bop Cafe
Free entrance, no prior registration required

25. 03

Mike Stern and Leni Stern with Stoyan Yankoulov, Vladimir Karparov and Peter Slavov Special project of Plovdiv Jazz Fest

19:30 pm / Cоncert Hall Art Academy Plovdiv

Tickets
25. 03

Octet Plovdiv & Jam Session

21:30 pm / Bee Bop Cafe
Free entrance, no prior registration required

Workshops

Plovdiv Jazz Fest: Workshops

Some of the world's biggest jazz stars will be coming to the first spring edition of Plovdiv Jazz Fest. They will be not only performing in concerts, but also meeting young Bulgarian jazz musicians. Jazz singers, piano players, double bassists and guitarists will have the opportunity to work alongside renowned mentors including Gretchen Parlato, Taylor Eigsti, David Linx, Peter Slavov, Mike Stern and Leni Stern.

The one-day workshops are free of charge and will be held according to the following schedule:

21 March: Gretchen Parlato (vocal art)
21 March: Taylor Eigsti (piano and contemporary improvisational music)
22 March: David Linx (vocal art)
23 March: Peter Slavov (double bass)
24 March: Mike Stern and Leni Stern (guitar and improvisational music)
Some of the mentors will also select participants to join them in their concerts during the
festival.

Application deadline: 28 February 2026

Application form

21. 03

Gretchen Parlato

21. 03

Taylor Eigsti

22. 03

David Linx

23. 03

Peter Slavov

24. 03

Mike Stern and Leni Stern

Plovdiv Jazz Day

On March 25

On March 25, jazz melodies will be heard coming from all directions in Plovdiv. We are celebrating jazz music by dedicating a special day to it, when it will be heard not only in clubs and concert halls, but everywhere throughout the city. Jazz Day is an initiative of Plovdiv Jazz Fest, in which we will invite restaurants, clubs, cafes, hotels, shops, malls, taxi services, public transport, hairdressers, beauty salons, etc. to participate. Their musical background on this day will be exclusively jazz! We hope that with each passing year, the initiative will expand and reach more and more places in the city.

Of course, we have also prepared a fitting soundscape. A mobile platform with trombonist Vili Stoyanov's brass band will literally parade through the central streets of Plovdiv in the style of New Orleans parades. Listen carefully! Great music will certainly be heard!

Plovdiv Jazz Fest

Plovdiv Jazz Fest was established in 2015. Today, it is one of the most significant and prestigious international jazz festivals in Bulgaria. It is also an undisputed favorite among jazz connoisseurs in the country. Over the past ten years, the festival has featured legendary artists such as Jan Garbarek, John Scofield, Dave Holland, Brad Mehldau Trio, Joe Lovano, Dave Weckl, Mike Stern, Richard Bona, Joey Calderazzo, Dennis Chambers, Antonio Sanchez and Thana Alexa. The most impressive concerts included those by Joshua Redman, Donny McCaslin, Avishai Cohen, Kurt Elling, Jason Moran, Linda May Han Oh, Chris Potter, Viktoria Tolstoy, Rosalia de Souza, Maria Joao, Eliane Elias, Vlatko Stefanovski and Theodosii Spasov, Gretchen Parlato with Taylor Eigsti Quartet, Julian Lage, Yildiz Ibrahimova, Till Brönner, Michael League and Bill Laurance from Snarky Puppy, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Slavov Quartet. Of course, the festival is also a forum for the latest projects of Bulgarian jazz artists. Over the years, the festival has explored concepts related to various themes such as Women in Jazz, Piano in Jazz, Guitarists in Jazz, and Vocal Artistry in Jazz. In 2022, a summer version of the festival was created, called Plovdiv Jazz Summer, which takes place in Plovdiv and the village of Markovo, focusing mainly on Bulgarian jazz, improvisational music, mixing genres, jazz, and other musical styles.

One of the autumn edition's most important distinguishing features is its interdisciplinary accompanying programme. Jazz is all about communication through improvisation, which is why the organisers consider the connections between jazz and other arts to be so important. With an eye to history, as well as to new generations of singers, the festival hosts various competitions and performances by the youngest jazz musicians. The festival programme also includes additional events such as book presentations, film programmes, exhibitions, masterclasses and workshops, as well as the jam sessions held after each concert in the main programme.

Every year, Plovdiv Jazz Fest presents annual awards for outstanding contributions to jazz, in an effort to raise awareness of the history and tradition of jazz music in Bulgaria. Among the laureates are Ognyan Videv, Beli, Zeleni i Cherveni, Acoustic Version, Toma Sprostranov, Yildiz Ibrahimova, Theodosii Spassov, Vesselin Nikolov, Vesselin Vesselinov–Eko, and Mimi Nikolova. Posthumous awards have also been given to Rumen Toskov, Vassil Parmakov, and Andronia Popova. In 2025, the award will be given to Stoyan Yankoulov!

Since 2019, Plovdiv Jazz Fest has been collaborating with Plovdiv Opera, organizing joint concerts by Lizz Wright, Stacey Kent, and Dianne Reeves.

Organised by Blue M on the basis of a public-private initiative, the festival has been supported by the Municipality of Plovdiv as part of the city's cultural calendar since its inception.

Organizer and Partnerships:
next-generation-eu nextgeneration Plovdiv Blum NCF bbr.bg Art Academy Plovdiv Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts
'Prof. Asen Diamandiev' Bee Bop Cafe Plovdiv Mosaics Studio Plovdiv


Media Partners:
Jazz FM BTA KATRA FM Въпреки ВИЖ Лицата на града how2plovdiv.com plovdivtime.bg trafficnews.bg podtepeto.com
Plovdiv Jazz Fest / Spring Edition is organised by Blue M.

The visual identity of Plovdiv Jazz Fest / Spring Edition was created by Punkt Studio.

The festival is funded under the project BG-RRP-11.021-0003 “Together again”, procedure BG-RRP-11.021 “A New Generation of Local Cultural Policies for Large Municipalities”, financed by the European Union through the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (NextGenerationEU), under the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience of the Republic of Bulgaria. With the support and partnership of the National Culture Fund, Plovdiv Municipality, the Bulgarian Development Bank, AMTII "Prof. Asen Diamandiev" Plovdiv, Bee Bop Café and the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis.

(c) Copyright © . All rights reserved.

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Mike Stern and Leni Stern

the artist

Virtuoso American guitarist Mike Stern was named the best jazz guitarist by Guitar Player magazine in 1993, and is considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time by DownBeat magazine. In 2007, he received the Miles Davis Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and he has also won the Orville W. Gibson Award for Best Jazz Guitarist. A composer, arranger and performer, he has had a 50-year career which includes 18 recordings as a bandleader and six Grammy nominations. Mike Stern grew up in Washington and started playing the guitar at the age of 12. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he has become widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists of his generation. Over the past five decades, he has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Jaco Pastorius, Arturo Sandoval, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Billy Cobham, Pat Metheny, the Brecker Brothers, Four Generations of Miles and Blood, Sweat & Tears, among others. By combining rock-fusion power with sophisticated jazz harmonies and his innate blues mastery, Stern has the ability to instantly elevate any concert he performs in, channelling the spirit of his guitar heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall and Albert King.

mikestern.org/media.htm

Leni Stern was named one of the “50 Most Sensational Female Guitarists of All Time” in Guitar Player magazine’s 50th anniversary issue in 2017, with the publication aptly dubbing her “a genre-defying adventurer.” Leni’s example shines beyond just prowess on her instrument. The pursuit of her career across more than four decades has been in effect a political act – a practice in strength and defiance to be a woman and a bandleader, a female electric guitarist and a composer, an artist who produces her own albums and manages her own career. Moreover, given our recent political climate, it is now more essential than ever to celebrate the immigrant experience that brought Leni to the U.S. from Germany and her bandmates from Senegal and Argentina. Leni’s inspiration has long been the interconnectedness of music, history and our humanity. She says: “Music is one of the truest, most beautiful expressions of the human spirit, crossing borders, dissolving tribalism, binding us together – if we let it.” Leni has been on an evolutionary road over the past decade and a half, as she fused her long-honed contemporary jazz sound with a deeply felt exploration of West African styles. Leni married Mike Stern in 1980, and their partnership has been a musically fruitful one, inspiring for both. “Of all the things I’ve learned from Mike,” she says, “the most important was how to integrate rock and blues with jazz in that soulful American style – as well as how to adapt the guitar to playing horn-like improvisation.” As Leni’s muse has led her around the world, her curiosity and empathy enabled her to develop collaborative relationships with kindred spirits across cultures.

lenistern.com

Peter Slavov

the artist

Peter Slavov is a double bassist, composer, session musician, arranger and educator. He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals in more than 40 countries on 5 continents. After receiving a scholarship from Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music in 1999, Peter left Bulgaria and moved to Boston to attend Berklee. In 2001, he was awarded the Berklee Bass Department’s John Neves Memorial Scholarship Award for Outstanding Musicianship, as well as a full scholarship. After graduating from Berklee in 2002, Peter Slavov has performed and recorded with world-renowned artists such as Joe Lovano, Quincy Jones, George Garzone, Paul Winter, Kevin Mahogany, Simon Shaheen, Elio Villafranca, Alfredo Rodriguez and many others. Peter has been a long time member of Grammy® award-winning saxophonist Joe Lovano’s various bands and projects. In 2012, Lovano’s Us Five band inn which Slavov alternated with Esperanza Spalding, received the Award for Best Small Group by the Jazz Journalists Association of America. Peter Slavov is also featured on Joe Lovano’s album Cross Culture, released on the historic Blue Note label. Peter Slavov has performed with twenty seven-time Grammy award-winning producer/composer/arranger Quincy Jones’ Global Gumbo Project. Peter has also recorded for Jones. He is featured on Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez’ GRAMMY-nominated album The Invasion Parade , which Quincy Jones produced. Peter Slavov’s current album, Little Stories, was released at the end of 2019 to great acclaim. From Bass Magazine: "Portrayed in the sonic medium, this collection of deeply personal stories offers audiences a glimpse into the mind of an extraordinary musician. From the death of the composer’s father, to his immigrant experience in the United States, Little Stories gives audiences both light-heartedness and heartache explored with harmonic intrigue and soulful melodic invention." In the spring of 2013, Peter was commissioned to write a piece for jazz trio and a chamber orchestra. The piece, “Gone”, was performed in July 2013 by the Varna Chamber Orchestra at the Festival Complex in Varna, Bulgaria as part of the Varna Summer Music Festival. Peter Slavov’s composition “A.M.” was featured in the soundtrack to the 2012 documentary Without Borders: True Tales From The U.S.A. In 2010, as part of vocalist Sophie Milman’s band, Peter recorded for the soundtrack to the documentary Jews And Baseball: An American Love Story, directed by award winning director and producer Peter Miller, and narrated by Dustin Hoffman. Peter Slavov has taught master classes at Berklee College of Music; Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa, Mexico; Mahidol University in Thailand; New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria;The Sofia Philharmonic, Bulgaria; University of Maryland, College Park, MD; West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV;

Peterslavov.com

David Linx

the artist

Today living in Paris, David Linx is a composer, lyricist, producer and multi-instrumentalist, born on March 22, 1965 in Brussels. In 2025, he celebrateа his 60th birthday, crowning a career dedicated to music for more than four decades, in particular jazz, a genre for which he is recognized as one of Europe's most distinctive voices. From his early teens, Linx was influenced by major jazz figures, particularly American drummer Kenny Clarke, whom he met through his godfather Nathan Davis and lived with in Paris. This connection marked the beginning of his international career, in which he has collaborated with such renowned musicians as Diederik Wissels, Paolo Fresu, Maria João, Clark Terry, Kenny Wheeler, Mark Murphy, Johnny Griffin, Roy Ayers, Tigran Hamasyan and Ran Blake, to name but a few. We can't mention David Linx without referring to his love of poetry and the album “A Lover's Question” he produced with his friend, writer, poet and African-American activist James Baldwin, in 1986.

A prolific artist, David Linx has released numerous albums that testify to his creativity and musical openness. His compositions are characterized by profound lyrics and a sophisticated vocal approach. His most notable works include albums such as “Up Close” (with Diederik Wissels), “A Lover's Question”, “Follow the Songlines”, and “Be My Guest”. In 2019, he received a Victoire du Jazz award for his album “Skin in the Game”, confirming his status as a key player on the international jazz scene. In 2017, David Linx received the Prix Octave d'Honneur in Belgium for his entire career, the Prix Edison for the best album of 2017 (Brel with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra) and numerous awards in France: Prix Charles Cros, Prix de l'Académie du Jazz, Victoires du Jazz, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

As he celebrates his 60th birthday, David Linx chooses to affirm sensitivity as a strength--30 years after “Up Close” with his prophetic piano-voice infusing the opening song “I Tell My Heart”. What a beautiful constancy from someone, who we must realize is a pioneer on the European continent. In “Real Men Cry”, where he excels as an accomplished songwriter, David Linx continues his exchanges with a trio of tightrope walkers: Grégory Privat, Chris Jennings and Arnaud Dolmen. The fabulous trumpeter Hermon Mehari joins the adventure to form a solid, high-flying quintet.

davidlinx.com

Taylor Eigsti

the artist

Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning NYC-based pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti started playing the piano when he was four years old. Growing up in Menlo Park, CA, Eigsti was quickly labeled a prodigy, and has since released 9 albums as a bandleader, in addition to appearing on over 80 albums as a sideman. In February 2025, Eigsti won his second GRAMMY® Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his ninth and most recent album “Plot Armor” (2024, GroundUP Music), following a 2022 win for his eighth album “Tree Falls” (2021, GSI Records) in the same category. Eigsti has garnered a total of 4 individual GRAMMY® nominations over the years for his work as a recording artist and composer, including Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, in addition to being featured on several other GRAMMY® nominated albums by Gretchen Parlato and Julian Lage, and co-wrote a featured composition with Don Cheadle for the GRAMMY® - winning soundtrack to the motion picture “Miles Ahead” (2017).

Recently, Eigsti was the winner of Downbeat Magazine’s 72nd Annual Critic’s Poll for Rising Star “Pianist of the Year” for 2024. Eigsti has performed, toured, or recorded with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Sting, Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, Joshua Bell, Snarky Puppy, Esperanza Spalding, John Mayer, Vanessa Williams, James Moody, Turtle Island Quartet, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Vince Mendoza, Julian Lage, Ambrose Akinmusire, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Lalah Hathaway, Joe Lovano, Hank Jones, and Frederica Von Stade, in addition to frequent touring collaborations with Ms. Lisa Fischer, Terence Blanchard, Chris Botti, Kendrick Scott, Ben Wendel, Erin Bode, Eric Harland, and Gretchen Parlato, amongst numerous others.

Eigsti has travelled internationally quite extensively over the years both as a sideman and with his trio and quartet, performing at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Royal Festival Hall, Olympia Hall, Massey Hall, Lincoln Center, Davies Symphony Hall, Salle Pleyel, and countless performances worldwide throughout six continents, including a private performance for former President Bill Clinton. Eigsti has also been featured numerous times in various television specials, NPR appearances, commercials, and composed the theme music to the motion picture "Detachment" (2011) starring Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, collaborating on the score with the Newton Brothers. Eigsti was also featured on a television special with Chris Botti for PBS’s “Great Performances” and was featured on Terence Blanchard’s score to Spike Lee’s 2021 HBO DocuSeries “NYC Epicenters”. Eigsti has performed as a soloist with with many premiere symphony orchestras, including the New York Pops, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and many others. Eigsti has also composed a large repertoire of symphonic music for multiple collaborations with the Peninsula Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Bear Valley Chamber Orchestra, amongst others.
Tayjazz.com/

Gretchen Parlato

the artist

Since the early 2000s, 3x GRAMMY nominated vocalist Gretchen Parlato has earned a reputation as one of the most inventive and mesmerizing jazz vocalists of her generation. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA , surrounded by an artistic family, she is a graduate of Los Angeles County High School for the ARTS and continued her education at UCLA as an Ethnomusicology major, among the first graduating class of the newly formed Jazz Studies department in 1998. Parlato moved to New York City after graduating as the first vocalist to attend the (then Thelonious Monk Institute) now Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance. Soon after, she won the Herbie Hancock (formerly Thelonious Monk) International Jazz Vocal Competition, quickly building momentum touring globally with her quartet and releasing several acclaimed albums, including her self-titled debut and Live in NYC (ObliqSound, 2013), which earned a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

In 2023, Parlato released Lean In (Edition Records), a duo collaboration with Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke. Celebrated for its fusion of cultures, languages, and friendship, the project earned her third GRAMMY® nomination in 2024 for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Her deep affinity for Brazilian music inspired Flor (2021), which received her second GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, won the German Jazz Award for International Vocal Album of the Year, and was named one of the top five jazz albums of 2021 by Jazzwise, The Guardian, and Amazon. Her earlier albums also drew wide acclaim—The Lost and Found (2011) co-produced by Robert Glasper, garnered over 30 national and international awards, including the DownBeat Jazz Critics Poll No. 1 Vocal Album of the Year and iTunes Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, while her sophomore release In a Dream (2009) was named JazzTimes Critics Poll Vocal Album of the Year and hailed by Billboard as “the most alluring jazz vocal album of 2009.” Along with her own projects, Parlato has been a featured guest on over 100 recordings, with artists including Esperanza Spalding, Moonchild, Terri Lyne Carrington, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller, Kenny Barron, Keiko Matsui, Gerald Clayton, and Taylor Eigsti.

Parlato has performed worldwide, from The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center to the Montreal, North Sea, and London Jazz Festivals. She was a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, a professor of voice at Manhattan School of Music and the New School, and continues to be a committed educator, leading workshops and masterclasses internationally. Parlato will be releasing a quartet album of new music in 2026.
Gretchenparlato.com

Taylor Eigsti

the artist

Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning NYC-based pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti started playing the piano when he was four years old. Growing up in Menlo Park, CA, Eigsti was quickly labeled a prodigy, and has since released 9 albums as a bandleader, in addition to appearing on over 80 albums as a sideman. In February 2025, Eigsti won his second GRAMMY® Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his ninth and most recent album “Plot Armor” (2024, GroundUP Music), following a 2022 win for his eighth album “Tree Falls” (2021, GSI Records) in the same category. Eigsti has garnered a total of 4 individual GRAMMY® nominations over the years for his work as a recording artist and composer, including Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, in addition to being featured on several other GRAMMY® nominated albums by Gretchen Parlato and Julian Lage, and co-wrote a featured composition with Don Cheadle for the GRAMMY® - winning soundtrack to the motion picture “Miles Ahead” (2017).

Recently, Eigsti was the winner of Downbeat Magazine’s 72nd Annual Critic’s Poll for Rising Star “Pianist of the Year” for 2024. Eigsti has performed, toured, or recorded with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Sting, Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, Joshua Bell, Snarky Puppy, Esperanza Spalding, John Mayer, Vanessa Williams, James Moody, Turtle Island Quartet, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Vince Mendoza, Julian Lage, Ambrose Akinmusire, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Lalah Hathaway, Joe Lovano, Hank Jones, and Frederica Von Stade, in addition to frequent touring collaborations with Ms. Lisa Fischer, Terence Blanchard, Chris Botti, Kendrick Scott, Ben Wendel, Erin Bode, Eric Harland, and Gretchen Parlato, amongst numerous others.

Eigsti has travelled internationally quite extensively over the years both as a sideman and with his trio and quartet, performing at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Royal Festival Hall, Olympia Hall, Massey Hall, Lincoln Center, Davies Symphony Hall, Salle Pleyel, and countless performances worldwide throughout six continents, including a private performance for former President Bill Clinton. Eigsti has also been featured numerous times in various television specials, NPR appearances, commercials, and composed the theme music to the motion picture "Detachment" (2011) starring Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, collaborating on the score with the Newton Brothers. Eigsti was also featured on a television special with Chris Botti for PBS’s “Great Performances” and was featured on Terence Blanchard’s score to Spike Lee’s 2021 HBO DocuSeries “NYC Epicenters”. Eigsti has performed as a soloist with with many premiere symphony orchestras, including the New York Pops, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and many others. Eigsti has also composed a large repertoire of symphonic music for multiple collaborations with the Peninsula Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Bear Valley Chamber Orchestra, amongst others.
Tayjazz.com/

Gretchen Parlato

the artist

Since the early 2000s, 3x GRAMMY nominated vocalist Gretchen Parlato has earned a reputation as one of the most inventive and mesmerizing jazz vocalists of her generation. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA , surrounded by an artistic family, she is a graduate of Los Angeles County High School for the ARTS and continued her education at UCLA as an Ethnomusicology major, among the first graduating class of the newly formed Jazz Studies department in 1998. Parlato moved to New York City after graduating as the first vocalist to attend the (then Thelonious Monk Institute) now Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance. Soon after, she won the Herbie Hancock (formerly Thelonious Monk) International Jazz Vocal Competition, quickly building momentum touring globally with her quartet and releasing several acclaimed albums, including her self-titled debut and Live in NYC (ObliqSound, 2013), which earned a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

In 2023, Parlato released Lean In (Edition Records), a duo collaboration with Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke. Celebrated for its fusion of cultures, languages, and friendship, the project earned her third GRAMMY® nomination in 2024 for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Her deep affinity for Brazilian music inspired Flor (2021), which received her second GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, won the German Jazz Award for International Vocal Album of the Year, and was named one of the top five jazz albums of 2021 by Jazzwise, The Guardian, and Amazon. Her earlier albums also drew wide acclaim—The Lost and Found (2011) co-produced by Robert Glasper, garnered over 30 national and international awards, including the DownBeat Jazz Critics Poll No. 1 Vocal Album of the Year and iTunes Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, while her sophomore release In a Dream (2009) was named JazzTimes Critics Poll Vocal Album of the Year and hailed by Billboard as “the most alluring jazz vocal album of 2009.” Along with her own projects, Parlato has been a featured guest on over 100 recordings, with artists including Esperanza Spalding, Moonchild, Terri Lyne Carrington, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller, Kenny Barron, Keiko Matsui, Gerald Clayton, and Taylor Eigsti.

Parlato has performed worldwide, from The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center to the Montreal, North Sea, and London Jazz Festivals. She was a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, a professor of voice at Manhattan School of Music and the New School, and continues to be a committed educator, leading workshops and masterclasses internationally. Parlato will be releasing a quartet album of new music in 2026.
Gretchenparlato.com