Stanford Jazz Workshop

Walk across the Stanford campus on a July afternoon and you may hear a teenage saxophonist working through a Charlie Parker solo in a practice room. Come back after dark and a touring bandleader may be on stage a few hundred yards away. Both belong to the Stanford Jazz Workshop, which has run summer jazz camps and a concert festival on campus for more than half a century.

Despite the name, the workshop is not part of Stanford University. It is a small independent nonprofit that uses campus halls and classrooms each summer. This page covers its history, the festival, the camps and its year-round programs. Details come from the workshop's own site and Stanford sources as of late October 2026.

History since 1972

Saxophonist and educator Jim Nadel founded the Stanford Jazz Workshop in 1972, the summer after he graduated from Stanford with a music degree. He went on to teach for decades as a lecturer in Stanford's Department of Music and designed the first curriculum for the university's academic jazz program. The workshop now lists him as founder and artistic director emeritus. Cory Combs is executive director.

From the start, the idea was to put young musicians in the same rooms as working jazz artists. The workshop's list of faculty legends reads like a jazz history syllabus:

• Stan Getz
• Dizzy Gillespie
• McCoy Tyner
• Ray Brown
• Jimmy Cobb
• Slide Hampton
• Mulgrew Miller
• Branford Marsalis
• Sheila Jordan
• Geri Allen

Students who passed through early in their careers include saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Bill Stewart, pianist Taylor Eigsti, violinist Jenny Scheinman and singer Sasha Dobson. Stanford News reported that Redman first attended in 1985 as a Berkeley High School student, later joined the faculty and has since been a visiting artist at Stanford. More than 10,000 students and artists have taken part over the years and Stanford News counted more than 100 alumni who later enrolled at Stanford.

Independent of Stanford

The name confuses many families, so it is worth being clear. The workshop is a nonprofit with its own budget and staff. Wikipedia describes it as "neither legally nor financially connected" to the university and Stanford's own list of summer camps flags it as independent and not affiliated with Stanford. Its office is at 1710 South Amphlett Boulevard in San Mateo, with a mailing address on a Stanford post office box.

In practice that means three things. Registration, tuition, refunds and supervision all go through the workshop, not Stanford. Festival tickets are sold by the workshop, not by Stanford Live or Stanford Athletics. And questions go to the workshop's staff at its listed phone number, 650-736-0324.

The Stanford Jazz Festival

The festival is the public face of the workshop. Concerts run in the evenings while camps are in session, so students can hear the same artists who coach them during the day. The 2026 festival listed 26 concerts: a pre-festival show on May 22 and a run from late June through July 31. Artists on the 2026 lineup included:

• Branford Marsalis Quartet
• Anat Cohen Quartet
• Billy Childs Quartet
• Stefon Harris and Blackout
• Taylor Eigsti Group
• The Westerlies

The 2026 schedule also included Early Bird Jazz for Kids. Tickets are sold online only and members get early access and discounted prices. The 2027 lineup had not been announced in late October 2026. Expect an announcement in spring.

Where concerts happen

The workshop uses campus halls rather than a venue of its own. Around its 50th season, Stanford News named Bing Concert Hall, Campbell Recital Hall, Dinkelspiel Auditorium and Frost Amphitheater as festival venues. Check each concert listing for the room, since the mix changes year to year. Our guide to Department of Music concerts describes Campbell and Dinkelspiel and our Bing Concert Hall guide covers the larger hall.

The summer camps

Camps run in one or two week sessions and are split by school level.

Stanford's camp list describes the camps as running from rising middle schoolers through high school, with day and residential options. Wikipedia gives Jazz Camp's age range as 12 to 17. Campers can attend festival concerts in the evenings, which is much of the appeal.

Registering for 2027

The workshop's site says summer 2027 camps are open for enrollment. It has moved to a new registration system and asks every family to create a new account, even returning ones. Session dates were not listed on the home page in October 2026, so check the summer programs page before planning travel.

Financial aid

The workshop offers financial aid and has awarded more than 100 Jazz Camp tuition scholarships a year to young musicians with financial need. Apply early, since aid budgets are finite.

Year-round programs

The workshop does not go quiet after August. Its site lists:

• After-school big bands: the Giant Steps and Miles Ahead big bands for middle and high school players.
• Master classes with visiting jazz artists.
• Jazz Girls Day, a dedicated program for girls who play jazz.
• CoHo Jams: jam sessions at the Coffee House in Tresidder Union. Stanford News recalled that before the pandemic these free sessions drew hundreds of students, community members and amateur players. The workshop listed a CoHo Jam on November 2, 2026. See our Tresidder Union guide for the location.

Three jazz names that get mixed up

Stanford has more than one jazz group with a similar name, which trips up ticket buyers every year:

• Stanford Jazz Workshop: the independent nonprofit on this page, active mainly in summer.
• Stanford Jazz Orchestra: a student ensemble of the Department of Music. Its fall 2026 concert is listed for November 13 at Dinkelspiel Auditorium.
• Stanford Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble: another Department of Music ensemble, listed for November 14 at Dinkelspiel.

The student ensembles perform during the academic year and sell tickets through Stanford's own links. The workshop sells its own festival tickets in summer. If a listing does not say which organization is presenting, check the web address on the ticket page.

Planning a festival night

• Parking. Campus parking in many central zones is free on weekday evenings after 4 p.m. and on weekends. Read the zone sign. Our Stanford parking and transit guide has details.
• Outdoor shows. Concerts at Frost Amphitheater are on a grass bowl. Bring a layer, since summer evenings cool fast.
• Dinner. Downtown Palo Alto is a short drive away. Leave time to park before the show.
• More summer music. Our summer events guide lists free outdoor concerts in town.

For camp families

Families from out of town often stay nearby for a week or two of day camp. A rental with a kitchen makes packed lunches easier than a hotel. You can browse family rentals near Palo Alto. Local families can combine the workshop with other options in our summer camps guide, which explains how city and Stanford camp registration works.

For more on jazz and live music through the rest of the year, see our guide to live music in Palo Alto.

Frequently asked questions