The San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival is set to make its return this fall, following a successful debut last year, which was backed by nearly $400,000 in seed money from Qualcomm co-founder Irwin M. Jacobs.
Scheduled for the first weekend of October, the 2025 festival promises a vibrant international lineup of artists who will perform in Tijuana, downtown San Diego, and Escondido.
Attendees can look forward to free concerts in Tijuana and downtown San Diego, alongside a paid concert at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, with tickets available now at sdtjjazz.org.
Festival co-founder Daniel Atkinson noted the positive response from audiences last year, stating, “Last year’s festival really resonated positively with people on both sides of the border.”
He expressed gratitude for Jacobs’ three-year pledge, which significantly aids in covering festival costs, allowing them to organize another impressive event.
The 2025 artist lineup features four Grammy Award-winning musicians, including Mexico City native Arturo O’Farrill, a six-time Grammy winner, and acclaimed Los Angeles bassist John Clayton.
Additionally, leading San Diego artists such as trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, flutist Holly Hofmann, and pianist Irving Flores will also take the stage.
One noteworthy collaboration will see O’Farrill reunite with Jorge Castillo, a retired librarian from Chula Vista and founder of the Fandango Fronterizo festival, which occurs on the Tijuana side of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Together, they won a Grammy in 2023 for their live album, “Fandango at the Wall.” Another highlight of this year’s festival will be the performance by Escondido native Gabrielle Cavassa, the 2021 winner of the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
This competition is part of the 14-year-old TD James Moody Jazz Festival held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. The festival will feature an exceptional tribute on October 4, titled James Moody @ 100.
This one-time-only concert will boast an all-star band, including Grammy-winning Puerto Rican saxophonist David Sánchez, pianist Gerald Clayton and his father John Clayton, drummer Lewis Nash, alongside special guests Hofmann and Castellanos.
Atkinson shared that the late jazz legend James Moody spent the last 20 years of his life in San Diego, making this tribute particularly fitting. He emphasized, “Doing the concert in his honor fits nicely into our mission to celebrate jazz in this region.”
Following lessons learned from the inaugural festival in 2024, this year’s event will feature key scheduling changes.
The free outdoor concert in Tijuana will now take place on Sunday night, intended to reduce ambient noise, while the Escondido opening concert has been moved to Saturday to allow for new free outdoor performances before the ticketed event.
Atkinson remarked, “We learned some good lessons last year about scheduling.”
As the founder of the nonprofit San Diego Jazz Ventures and a long-time jazz program coordinator at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla, he expressed his commitment to making the festival a success.
Atkinson and Tijuana Blues & Jazz Festival founder/director Julián Plascencia envisioned the festival as a way to unite multicultural audiences through the power of music.
In fact, out of the estimated 4,000 attendees at last year’s festival, approximately 75 percent enjoyed performances at no cost. Atkinson shared that they drew inspiration from jazz festivals in cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Chicago, where free events are complemented by ticketed performances that help support the overall festival.
The festival lineup is designed not only to feature renowned artists but also to foster emerging talent from both regions.
2025 San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival lineup highlights:
– **October 2**: The Irving Flores Afro-Cuban Jazz Sextet will feature Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, along with Gilbert Castellanos and Norbert Stachel. This event will also include the Binational Youth Ensemble, showcasing students from both San Diego’s Young Lions Jazz Conservatory and Ensenada’s Instituto Contemporáneo de Música de Baja California. This concert will be held at Quartyard, 1301 Market Street, East Village, and is free of charge with online registration required.
– **October 4**: The highly anticipated James Moody @ 100 concert will take place at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, featuring David Sánchez, Gerald Clayton, John Clayton, and Lewis Nash, along with special guests Holly Hofmann and Gilbert Castellanos. The event will also showcase Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Ensemble in conjunction with the Fandango Fronterizo Colectivo, alongside Lucía and Gabrielle Cavassa. Tickets for this concert range from $35 to $99.
– **October 5**: The festival closes with another performance by Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Ensemble, as well as the Irving Flores Afro-Cuban Jazz Sextet, Lucía, and the Binational Youth Ensemble. This concert will occur on Avenida Revolución between Calle Salvador Diaz Miron (4th) and Calle Emiliano Zapata (5th) in Tijuana, offering another excellent free event.
As the festival draws closer, excitement builds for an unforgettable weekend that celebrates jazz’s rich cultural ties across borders.
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