The 46th annual Detroit Jazz Festival kicked off in style Friday in downtown Detroit’s Hart Plaza. Thousands of attendees gathered, many dressed to the nines in the cool, autumnal air, and settled in for an evening of world-class entertainment under the darkening skies.

Dr. Valade’s Brass Band, a New Orleans second line-style troupe comprised of young jazz students, opened as always with a march leading to the stage. Trumpeter Keyon Harrold’s Foreverland band followed with a deeply soulful set.

Rounding out the evening on Hart Plaza’s Carhartt Amphitheater Stage, 2025 festival Artist-in-Residence Jason Moran joined forces with Detroit techno god Jeff Mills and City of Detroit Poet Laureate jessica Care moore for a thrilling, throbbing set of experimental party music and spoken word that left the audience screaming.

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An after-hours set at Midtown’s new Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, for the hardcore jazz fans and those who still had stamina, was a massive treat as headlined by the great Emmet Cohen Trio. In a thundering 90-minute performance, Cohen seemingly took the live audience (and those streaming for free at home) through the entire history of jazz.

“When we think about this music,” Cohen said from the stage, “we like to think about the location we’re in, and this (Detroit) is probably the most fertile jazz ground in the world.”

City of Detroit Director of Arts and Culture Rochelle Riley called the festival “an international celebration of our excellence and just another example of how we lead and always have in music.”

“Just take a look at Detroit,” she said. “To see how Detroit is thriving, just take a look at this amazing, free jazz festival. Look at the Movement Festival that was a huge success. Look at the wonderful concert we just held at the restored band shell that was saved from the old state fairgrounds. Look at the faces of people who are enjoying life.

“This is Detroit. This is what it looks like when we don’t give more weight to negative things than we do to moments, days, times like this. I’m so proud of Detroit every time we soar. We all just have to remind ourselves to maintain the balance and see when things are great.”