Dizzy Gillespie All Stars with John Lee and special guest Paquito D’Rivera

WBGO’s “All That Jazz” Concert Series Brings the Dizzy Gillespie Legacy Roaring Back to New Jersey with Paquito D’Rivera, Live Music, Art, and a Celebration of Bebop History – Two Shows at 5PM and 8PM

New Jersey’s jazz legacy has never existed quietly.

It lives in the late-night club circuits of Newark. It echoes through the radio airwaves of WBGO. It survives in university rehearsal rooms, performing arts centers, intimate lounges, historic theaters, and in the generations of musicians who continue carrying forward one of America’s most important artistic languages. In a state where musical identity stretches from legendary boardwalk venues to internationally respected arts institutions, jazz has always remained part of the cultural heartbeat of New Jersey itself.

Now, one of the most significant celebrations of that legacy is returning to the stage with extraordinary force.

WBGO’s acclaimed “All That Jazz” concert series is once again bringing world-class performers to New Jersey audiences, this time spotlighting one of the most historically important catalogs in jazz history as the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars arrive alongside legendary special guest Paquito D’Rivera for a major live performance event that blends bebop history, modern virtuosity, visual art, and cultural preservation into one immersive evening.

The performance stands as far more than a standard concert date.

It is a living continuation of the musical revolution Dizzy Gillespie helped ignite during the 1940s and 1950s, a period that permanently transformed jazz from dance-hall entertainment into one of the most intellectually ambitious and artistically fearless forms of music in the world. Through rapid-fire improvisation, complex harmonics, Afro-Cuban experimentation, and explosive rhythmic invention, Gillespie became one of the defining architects of bebop, influencing virtually every generation of jazz musicians that followed.

That influence remains fully alive inside the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars.

Performing as a dynamic six-to-eight-piece ensemble, the group recreates the energy, sophistication, unpredictability, and joy that defined Gillespie’s historic live performances while simultaneously keeping the music fresh for modern audiences. Rather than functioning as a nostalgia act, the ensemble approaches the material as a living musical tradition — vibrant, aggressive, technically masterful, and emotionally alive.

For jazz audiences throughout New Jersey, this upcoming performance represents a rare opportunity to hear many of the most important compositions in jazz history performed in a setting specifically designed to honor their enduring cultural impact.

The evening’s setlist reads almost like a masterclass in bebop evolution itself.

Audience members can expect powerful interpretations of classics including “A Night In Tunisia,” “Anthropology,” “BeBop,” “Birks Works,” “Blue ‘N’ Boogie,” “Con Alma,” “Dizzy Atmosphere,” “Groovin’ High,” “Hot House,” “Oop-Pop-Sh’-Bam,” “Ow,” and the immortal “Salt Peanuts,” among numerous others that helped redefine modern jazz vocabulary.

These are not merely standards.

They are foundational works that reshaped twentieth-century music.

Many of these compositions became launching pads for generations of improvisers while also influencing rhythm and blues, rock music, Latin jazz, fusion, film composition, and contemporary orchestration. Their harmonic daring and rhythmic complexity permanently altered the direction of American music culture.

And joining the ensemble for this major New Jersey event is one of the most decorated and globally respected figures in Latin jazz history: Paquito D’Rivera.

For serious jazz audiences, D’Rivera’s presence immediately elevates the evening into something exceptional.

The Cuban-born saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and author remains one of the most celebrated crossover musicians in the world, equally revered in both classical and jazz circles. Across a career spanning decades, D’Rivera has won an extraordinary collection of GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY Awards while establishing himself as one of the defining architects of modern Latin jazz fusion.

His career has consistently bridged stylistic boundaries without sacrificing technical excellence or cultural authenticity.

D’Rivera’s ability to combine bebop precision, Afro-Cuban rhythmic sophistication, chamber music discipline, and explosive improvisational freedom makes him uniquely suited for a concert rooted in Dizzy Gillespie’s musical universe. Gillespie himself famously embraced Afro-Cuban influences throughout his career, helping pioneer cross-cultural collaborations that reshaped jazz permanently.

That spirit of fearless musical exploration remains central to this performance.

For New Jersey’s jazz scene, the concert also represents another major moment in WBGO’s ongoing role as one of the country’s most influential jazz institutions.

For decades, WBGO has functioned as far more than a radio station. It has served as a cultural preservation force, educational resource, artist incubator, historical archive, and international ambassador for jazz music. Headquartered in Newark, WBGO remains deeply connected to New Jersey’s musical identity while simultaneously reaching audiences across the globe through broadcast, streaming, live programming, and educational outreach.

Its “All That Jazz” concert series continues expanding that mission by creating experiences that combine live performance with broader artistic engagement.

This particular evening reflects that philosophy perfectly.

Guests are encouraged to arrive early not only for the concert itself, but for a complete cultural experience surrounding the event. Before the performance begins, audiences can enjoy cocktails and live piano music from Leonieke Scheuble inside the WBGO Piano Lounge, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of classic jazz-era sophistication while allowing patrons to fully immerse themselves in the evening’s artistic environment.

Simultaneously, Essex County College will present a featured exhibition by artist Dino Gravado Commodore inside the Hamilton Lobby, adding a visual arts dimension that further broadens the event’s cultural reach.

That multidisciplinary structure matters.

One of the defining characteristics of historic jazz culture has always been its interconnected relationship with visual art, literature, nightlife, fashion, theater, poetry, and urban creative communities. WBGO’s event programming consciously preserves that atmosphere, transforming concerts into larger artistic gatherings rather than isolated performances.

The concert also highlights New Jersey’s increasingly important role within the national live jazz landscape.

While cities like New York, New Orleans, and Chicago traditionally dominate jazz tourism conversations, New Jersey continues building an increasingly sophisticated arts and performance ecosystem of its own. Institutions across Newark, Montclair, Princeton, Red Bank, Morristown, Asbury Park, and Jersey City continue attracting internationally respected performers while cultivating local audiences deeply invested in live cultural experiences.

Partnerships like the collaboration between WBGO, UCPAC, and Smooth Jazz NJ further strengthen that ecosystem by connecting broadcast media, performance venues, community arts organizations, and audiences under a shared commitment to preserving and advancing jazz culture.

Importantly, the event also arrives during a broader cultural resurgence for live music itself.

Across New Jersey, audiences have increasingly gravitated toward immersive, high-quality live entertainment experiences that offer authenticity, artistry, and communal energy impossible to replicate digitally. Jazz, in particular, has benefited from renewed appreciation among younger audiences discovering both classic catalogs and modern improvisational scenes through streaming platforms, educational programs, vinyl culture, and live performance circuits.

Events like this therefore function simultaneously as celebration, preservation, and reintroduction.

For longtime jazz devotees, the evening offers the thrill of hearing legendary material interpreted by elite musicians carrying forward one of the genre’s greatest traditions. For younger audiences, it provides a direct encounter with the musical innovations that continue shaping contemporary sound across countless genres.

And for New Jersey itself, the performance reinforces the state’s ongoing emergence as one of the East Coast’s most vibrant cultural destinations.

The limited-time promotional ticket offer using code “DIZZY” for $50 admission through May 25 only adds further momentum surrounding the event, making one of the season’s premier jazz showcases more accessible to audiences eager to experience world-class musicianship inside an elevated live setting.

Ultimately, WBGO’s latest “All That Jazz” installment is not simply about revisiting history.

It is about demonstrating that this music still breathes.

The compositions remain daring. The improvisation remains explosive. The rhythmic interplay remains unpredictable. And the cultural spirit that Dizzy Gillespie helped ignite generations ago still continues evolving in real time on stages like this one across New Jersey.

For one evening, bebop history, Latin jazz brilliance, live artistry, visual culture, and New Jersey’s enduring love affair with jazz will converge into a singular performance experience that feels simultaneously timeless and entirely alive.