Featuring musical performances by the national award-winning Tucson Jazz Institute Ellington Big Band and Naomi & Her Handsome Devils, PLUS DANCE LESSONS and performances by international swing dance superstar Naomi Uyama!
April 30th was proclaimed as International Jazz Day by UNESCO in 2011 and has been celebrated ever since in major cities around the world. International Dance Day has been celebrated on April 29th since 1982, and will also be acknowledged at this very special event that combines jazz music with swing dance – from an era where everyone danced to big band music! In 2026, the global event is being held in CHICAGO!
Award-winning international superstar swing dancer and band leader Naomi Uyama will be featured as both a dancer (teaching a beginner’s swing dance lesson at 6:30pm) and a bandleader (performing with her band at 8:30pm.) Naomi has been called a “velvet-voiced chanteuse” by Time Out New York and been featured at every major swing dance festival around the world. She has assembled an amazing 7-piece band to perform her arrangements of classic swing repertoire — specifically designed for dancers!
The Tucson Jazz Institute Ellington Big Band directed by Brice Winston is an award-winning, all-city student jazz ensemble. Their mission is to create educational and performance opportunities for young musicians to reach their highest potential. The TJI Ellington Big Band has established itself as one of the leading high school jazz groups in the country, earning recognition from Downbeat Magazine and winning the #1 positions in national competitions such as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival in NYC, The Next Generation Jazz Festival in Monterey CA, and the Fullerton Jazz Festival in Fullerton CA. They have prepared a set of classic swinging big band songs especially for dancers!
