Healdsburg Jazz Festival Executive Director Gayle Okumura Sullivan enthusiastically shares what Downbeat magazine said about the annual event: “All killer, no filler.”
The description fits 2025’s fest, running June 13-22 with 19 shows in 10 locations.
Pianist Kenny Barron, ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro, pianist Jason Moran, vocalist Dianne Reeves, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, saxophonist Big Chief Donald Harrison and trumpeter Nicholas Payton are headlining, Sullivan says, emphasizing how the festival, now in its 27th year, is known for presenting top-tier talent in intimate, outdoor settings.
The biggest venue, the courtyard-style Bacchus Landing, holds an audience of “not thousands, but hundreds of people,” Sullivan adds.
The performers often comment on the wonderful atmosphere.
“What makes us different,” Sullivan continues, “is that we’re in the wine country. We’re in beautiful Healdsburg.”
Patrons, who savor Healdsburg’s lovely environment and famous gourmet food and wine, come from the Bay Area and across the country; some attend all 19 concerts.
The lineup, curated by festival artistic director Marcus Shelby, the busy San Francisco bassist, bandleader, composer and educator, also features up-and-coming artists indoors: 25-year-old vocalist Tyreek McDole, winner of the 2023 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, joins Barron on opening night at the Raven theater, and artist-in-residence, Oakland-raised bassist Amina Scott and her quintet play evening cocktail concerts on June 18 in H2Hotel.
With “something for everyone,” Sullivan points to varied programming featuring gospel with Glide Ensemble Choir & Change Band and guest singer, Bay Area favorite Kenny Washington, in Bacchus Landing on June 16. On June 17, a lunch concert features delightful local harpist Destiny Muhammad and her quintet, and San Francisco Poet Laureate Genny Lim at Overshine Wine.
Shelby and his orchestra join returning artist Moran with vocalist Darynn Dean in the June 19 headlining show, followed by Reeves, another star returning to the festival, on June 20.
Sullivan is excited to present Grammy-winner Carrington and vocalist Christie Dashiell to West Coast jazz lovers on June 21. They’re performing their nod to bebop drummer Max Roach and singer Abbey Lincoln’s seminal 1960, civil rights-themed album “We Insist!”; New York drummer Allison Miller joins the bill.
Payton and Harrison play on a bill together on June 22; the same afternoon, Chilean sax player Melissa Aldana and her quartet appear at the Paul Mahder Gallery.
The festival, a nonprofit since its inception in 1999, also offers free community shows in Healdsburg Plaza. On June 14, the Orrin Evans Trio, Faye Carol and McDole’s quintet appear; the event also includes workshops for families and vendors. On June 17, Melba’s Kitchen, a female band paying tribute to pioneering Black jazz musicians Melba Liston and Mary Lou Williams, takes the stage.
The packed 10-day lineup differs dramatically from Sullivan’s first time directing the festival with Shelby, taking over from beloved founder Jessica Felix, who helmed it until 2020.
Sullivan says, “It was 2021, right in the pandemic, but we were able to pull off a four-day live festival where there were 100 people max at any event. Remember when you had to space people 6 feet apart?”
She adds, “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It was crazy, but it was so great. It was so great for people to hear live music.”
A strong believer in the educational, healing and spiritual power of music, Sullivan recalls how it changed her 26-year-old son Patrick, who learned drumming in a Healdsburg Jazz program when he was 10. She says, “When he got music, every other subject opened up for him. It was really remarkable to see.”
A true renaissance woman, Sullivan grew up studying ballet, and her father played jazz clarinet. She started her career in the tech industry when she was a college student, and she continued in business and marketing for 15 years, working with Silicon Valley tech firms before she and her husband bought Dry Creek Peach in Healdsburg, now internationally known for exquisite organic fruit, in 2000.
As the first marketing professional for Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet (who also served on its board), Sullivan points out that pianist Moran, singer Lisa Fischer, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and the late tabla master Zakir Hussain all have collaborated with the veteran San Francisco choreographer as well as performed at Healdsburg Jazz.
This year, Sullivan expects about 10,000 festivalgoers. Among her duties during the fest, in addition to overseeing staff and numerous volunteers, is to greet and thank patrons whose donations make the festival possible.
Pointing out that Healdsburg Jazz is a year-round presenting organization offering winter and fall concerts, free community concerts and educational programs serving thousands of children, Sullivan says, “It’s just wonderful to be part of this next-generation Healdsburg Jazz and to see the evolution and growth. There’s really nothing that compares to it.”
Healdsburg Jazz Festival headliners
Concerts are in Bacchus Landing, 14210 Bacchus Landing Way, Healdsburg, unless otherwise noted.
June 13, 7 p.m.: Kenny Barron Trio, Tyreek McDole at Raven Performing Arts Theater, $38-$153
June 15, 7:30 p.m.: Jake Shimabukuro, $38-$421
June 19, 6:30 p.m.: Jason Moran with Marcus Shelby Orchestra, $28-$167
June 20, 7:30 p.m.: Dianne Reeves with Romero Lubambo, $38-$421
June 21, 6:30 p.m. Terri Lyne Carrington and Christie Dashiell; Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom Quartet, $28-$169
June 22, 6:30 p.m.: Nicholas Payton, Big Chief Donald Harrison Quartet, $28-$169
Healdsburg Jazz Festival runs June 13-22, 2025 in downtown Healdsburg. For more information and the full schedule, visit healdsburgjazz.org.
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