Some concerts are about entertainment. This one is about something more.
On Sunday, August 9 — what would have been Jack DeJohnette’s 84th birthday — the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston hosts Celebrating Jack DeJohnette: Sound Travels, a memorial tribute that has assembled nearly 50 musicians from across his legendary career. Every performer is volunteering their time. The venue donated its space. All net proceeds go to two local nonprofits: Family of Woodstock, which provides emergency housing and crisis intervention, and The Table at Woodstock, which offers food and clothing assistance. That tells you what kind of night this is going to be.
DeJohnette passed away October 26, 2025, at age 83 — a Grammy-winning NEA Jazz Master who played with Miles Davis during the electric fusion period, anchored Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio for more than three decades, and was deeply rooted in the Hudson Valley community. He described his own approach this way: “It’s like a painter with a palette. I think of myself more as a colorist than a drummer.” That sensibility shapes everything about how this tribute is being organized.
Musical directors Pat Metheny and Terri Lyne Carrington — DeJohnette’s protégée and one of jazz’s most celebrated drummers in her own right — are building ensembles around specific eras of his career, reassembling the groups he played with and performing his compositions from those years. The roster includes Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland, Bruce Hornsby, Esperanza Spalding, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Ravi Coltrane, David Murray, and many more. Carrington said it plainly: “He showed us how the drums can be melodic, how they can heal, how they can lead others.”
UPAC — the Ulster Performing Arts Center at 601 Broadway in Kingston — is a 1,500-capacity theater at the heart of the Hudson Valley music scene. Kingston is worth arriving early for; the 5:00 PM curtain leaves you the whole afternoon to explore the city.
Tickets are $45, $65, $80, and $100. Buy directly through Get Tickets — the venue specifically recommends skipping the secondary market.