The 69th annual Jazz Festival covers a lot of bases in three days. Here are some highlights.

THE LONGEST CONTINUOUSLY RUNNING JAZZ FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD is back for its 69th year, with more than 70 performances on five stages and a number of unique and historic jams you won’t see anywhere else, which is why this year’s theme is “Only in Monterey.” The festival features an array of jazz and jazz-adjacent styles, with some interesting twists, including spoken word artists this year. Here are some highlights of shows to check out over the three days.

Friday, Sept. 25

Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice Quartet

5pm, Tim Jackson Garden Stage

“What would jazz sound like in a culture without patriarchy?” That’s the question asked by the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, which is seeking to do corrective work to modify the way jazz is perceived and presented. A diversified combo of talented student musicians will play class and contemporary jazz. (The quartet also plays at 7:15pm Saturday, Sept. 26, on the Courtyard Stage.)

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and Special Guest Cécile McLorin Salvant

7pm, Jimmy Lyons Stage

For anyone who loves a big band sound and revels in classic jazz, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis is a must see. Music Director Marsalis is joined by 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players working today. Special guest Cécile McLorin Salvant, a French-American jazz singer, songwriter and composer, has been described as a once-in-a-generation vocalist. Winner of three Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album, she has a rich, luxuriant voice, reminiscent of Sarah Vaughan.

The Eddie Palmieri Experience: An All-Star Celebration

8:45pm, Jimmy Lyons Stage

A powerhouse lineup of special guest performers will celebrate the life and music of Eddie Palmieri, the Puerto Rican bandleader who revolutionized salsa and Latin jazz, who died last year at the age of 88. Over his long career he recorded over 40 albums and won 10 Grammys. The show on Friday’s main stage will pay tribute to Palmieri’s revolutionary sound, and will include musicians who have performed and recorded with Palmieri.

Ron Carter Foursight Quartet

9pm, Ray Drummond West End Stage

This is a chance to catch the legendary bassist Ron Carter on the performance grounds ahead of his collab with Herbie Hancock on Sunday in the main arena. Carter has the world record for recording albums, a whopping 2,200. He’s performed with all the greats since the early 1960s. Here Carter plays with the three outstanding musicians of his quartet: Payton Crossley on drums, Renee Rosnes on piano and Jimmy Greene on tenor sax.

Saturday, Sept. 26

Mariachi Herencia de México

12:30pm, Ray Drummond West End Stage

Two-time Grammy nominee Mariachi Herencia de México features a new generation of 15 mariachi musicians who are pushing the boundaries of the traditional form. The band honors the past while creating the future of the music, electrifying audiences along the way.

David Sanchez Carib Ensemble

2:15pm, Jimmy Lyons Stage

One of the world’s finest saxophonists and bandleaders, David Sanchez, presents his latest album Tambó, digging deep into his Afro-Caribbean roots and drawing from his travels among the African Diaspora throughout the Americas.

Monterey Surprise: 1958 Throwback

2:15pm, Ray Drummond West End Stage

This should be a delight, seeing modern masters step in for jazz icons who performed at the very first festival in 1958. The icons who made history for Monterey are Billie Holiday, Sonny Rollins, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Max Roach and the Modern Jazz Quartet. Masters include trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, drummer Brian Blade, vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Larry Grenadier and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana.

Meshell Ndegeocello: America 250 Commission

7pm, Jimmy Lyons Stage

This year’s commission artist, the incomparable Meshell Ndegeocello, presents her work “America 250.” (See story, page 18.)

Linda May Han Oh Trio with Fabian Almazan and Mark Whitfield Jr.

7pm, Pacific Jazz Café

Linda May Han Oh is an award-winning bassist and composer who has performed for such artists as Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, Terri Lyne Carrington, Steve Wilson and many others. Known for her impressive improvisation while performing bold, contemporary jazz, Oh leads the trio in a performance described as “at once deeply expressive and electrifyingly alive.”

Sunday, Sept. 27

Gospel with Tammy Hall and Friends

11:15am, Tim Jackson Garden Stage

In 2022, the festival presented for the first time in its history a set devoted purely to gospel and spiritual music on Sunday. It quickly became a tradition for the early risers among festival fans. Notable – and local – pianist-composer-arranger-musical director Tammy Hall leads the show, directing and conducting the Morgan State and Texas Southern University gospel choirs.

Brittany Davis & Black Thunder

Noon, Jimmy Lyons Stage

Brittany Davis, blind since birth, released her first album, Image Issues, in 2023. The keyboardist and singer joined with Evan Flory-Barnes on bass and D’Vonne Lewis on drums to record the recently released album Black Thunder. The album brings to mind artists like Nina Simone, Roberta Flack and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. (The trio also appears at 3:30pm inside the Pacific Jazz Café.)

Aja Monet

3:30pm, Jimmy Lyons Stage and 7:15pm, Tim Jackson Garden Stage

MJF taps into the rising global popularity of spoken word poetry, bringing surrealist blues poet Aja Monet to its stages to perform her poems combined with modern jazz. She is the youngest recipient of the Nuyorican Grand Slam Poetry title and her debut poetry album, when the poems do what they do, was nominated for a Grammy Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2024.

Amy Tan & Joey Alexander: Backyard Bird Chronicles Live

5:15pm, Pacific Jazz Café

Bestselling author Amy Tan brings another spoken word/jazz combination performance with jazz pianist phenom Joey Alexander, who at 23 years old has three Grammy award nominations to his name, one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album and two for Best Improvised Jazz Solo. Tan’s illustrated book The Backyard Bird Chronicles spent 70 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Charles Lloyd Quartet: Forest Flower 60th Anniversary

6pm, Jimmy Lyons Stage

In 1966, jazz master Charles Lloyd and his quartet recorded an album during the festival, Forest Flower, Live at Monterey, combining straight-ahead post-bop, free jazz, rock and world music. It proved to be a crossover hit, selling over 1 million copies. Lloyd returns with his current quartet that includes pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland.

Herbie Hancock & Ron Carter: For Miles

7:45pm, Jimmy Lyons Stage

A historic pairing of two of the genre’s greatest artists.

THE MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL runs 3:30-10:15pm Friday, Sept. 25; noon-10:15pm Saturday, Sept. 26; 11:15am-10:15pm Sunday. Sept. 27. Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey. $73-$95/ single-day grounds; $120-$225/single-day arena; $240/three-day grounds; $480-$740/three-day arena. (831) 308-4653, montereyjazz.org.