A rich fusion of jazz and blues and everything in between will fill the air as the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival takes center stage at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, October 20 to 26.
The festival will bring together Grammy Award-winning legends, internationally renowned instrumentalists and cultural icons for performances at the hotel’s Alaloa Lounge leading up to the main event on Oct. 25 at the Aloha Garden Pavilion.
The final day, Oct. 26, features a Jazz Brunch at Ulana Terrace from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring a wrap-up of the festival with performances by the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival Band, as well as acclaimed artists like Donald Harrison, Charlie Halloran and Joe Cabral of The Iguanas. Southern-inspired items are on the menu.
Festival founder and Maui filmmaker Kennth K. Martinez Burgmaier recollects the first event held at the Grand Wailea Resort in 2011. The 1st Annual Maui Jazz & Blues Festival was held on Sept. 24 with performances leading up to the main event. He says they offered tickets for only $25 not knowing how popular the event would be.
“Over 3,500 people showed up and overwhelmed the resort, and at one point they ran out of parking,” recalls Burgmaier. “It was the first time in history they didn’t have enough parking for an event. So we proved that people would come and enjoy jazz and blues in paradise.” He says the kickoff JazzFEST with The Iguanas was a sold-out show.
Burgmaier’s background reads like a dream “job” — if you can call it a “job” — to many, one that has combined his passion for music and filmmaking. The man has produced over 70 festivals across the state, including jazz and blues festivals on Oahu, Hawaii Island and Lanai, as well as slack key guitar festivals, ukulele festivals and film and music festivals on Lanai, Molokai and in Hana.
As a matter of fact, when Burgmaier created the Big Island Jazz & Blues Festival at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, he worked with then General Manager Jon Gersonde, who Burgmaier says, “saw my vision well over 15 years ago.” When Gersonde became the general manager at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua in 2024, the duo reconnected “and the magic just keeps happening!” said Burgmaier.
Always keeping busy, Burgmaier also created and has been producing and directing the acclaimed “Jazz Alley TV” series, which has been nationally and internationally syndicated. His filmmaking has also taken him around the world to music festivals in over 50 countries. As a result of his work throughout the years, Burgmaier formed relationships with legendary musicians and record companies, allowing him to bring world renown musicians to Hawaii.
Jourdan Thibodeau will make his first appearance at this year’s festival. (Photo courtesy of the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival)
“When I would come back home to Maui, I always would think to myself, ‘Wow, we could have a really cool music festival here,’” reflected Burgmaier, “so I threw the dice and created our own jazz and blues festival, and they’ve all been extremely successful with the huge support of our fans and local businesses.”
With a venue as The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua situated on an island paradise, the question isn’t what “makes” the musicians want to come back to perform each year, it’s whom you decide to invite back.
“They definitely want to be part of it and have a little vacation time too,” said Burgmaier. Being able to experience the aloha spirit is also a big part of the desire to return.
“The lineup has been truly a blessing with artists performing here, like Les McCann, Larry Corryell, Joe Louis Walker, Louis Hays, Chubby Carrier, Michael and David Doucet (of) BeauSolis, Steve Turre, Donald Harrison, John Patitucci, Russell Malone, Bobby Watson, Skip Martin Kool & The Gang, The Iguanas, Corey Ledet, Steve Riley, Wayne Toups, Javon Jackson, Howard Levy, Steve Freund, Tuck & Patti, Strunz & Farah, Fareed Hauqe, Eric Marienthal and so many more,” shared Burgmaier.
One of the special moments of the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival is when all the musicians return to the stage for a hana hou or encore so they can jam together for the audience, unlike other big festivals. Burgmaier says it’s something that touches both the fans and the musicians.
“They never get the opportunity to jam together, so we have created some extremely magical and historic moments on stage that all the musicians thoroughly enjoy and cherish! I promise you, you will never see so many happy faces at one of our festivals, which really makes my heart soar like an eagle!” Burgmaier states.
Roddie Romero will join the festival for the first time as well. (Photo courtesy of the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival)
New to the lineup this year are Jourdan Thibodeau, Roddie Romero and Wilson Savoy coming from Louisiana, “guys (who) travel around the world, spreading the zydeco Cajun renaissance,” said Burgmaier. “It’s definitely going to be an epic and historic festival for Maui and Hawaii.”
From the first sold-out JazzFEST event in 2011 with The Iguanas to now, Burgmaier says, “It’s been a journey for The Maui Jazz & Blues Fest and I am honored to bring the festival back to the west side of Maui at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, an extraordinary resort. After everything this community has been through, we’re ready to turn up the volume and deliver an epic weekend of world-class music and good vibes.”
Over 100 tickets are also being donated to Lahaina fire victims to ensure an enjoyable community experience. For tickets and full schedule, visit the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival website.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source spectrumlocalnews.com ’
