Saxophonist Rico Jones & His Quintet
Rico Jones leads a five-piece jazz quintet at Chris’ Jazz Cafe, featuring saxophone, drums, double bass, trumpet, and piano. The performance highlights Jones’s work as a composer, bandleader, and improviser, drawing on the Black American musical tradition while exploring modern and spiritually grounded jazz.
Jones’s debut album, *BloodLines* (Giant Step Arts, 2025), earned a four-star review from *DownBeat* and a place on the magazine’s list of the best albums of 2025. The album’s original compositions were praised for their spiritual intensity and have received attention from jazz publications in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Jones has performed at the Blue Note in New York with Esperanza Spalding, headlined the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center, toured internationally, and worked with artists including the Mingus Big Band, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Veronica Swift, Cyrus Chestnut, Ari Hoenig, Eric Harland, and Jonathan Blake.
A Colorado native now based in Harlem’s Sugar Hill neighborhood, Jones began playing saxophone in his church’s gospel band at age 13. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, studied with numerous leading jazz educators, and has received honors including six DownBeat Student Awards, the Vandoren Emerging Artist Award, and the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Award. During the pandemic, he organized more than 200 free concerts at Sloan Lake in Denver. His music continues to connect sacred traditions, ancestral memory, and contemporary improvisation.
When: Friday, October 30, 2026
Showtimes: 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM
Venue: Chris’ Jazz Cafe
Lineup: Rico Jones on saxophone, Jerome Gillespie on drums, Anthony Golden on double bass, Mejedi Owusu on trumpet, and William Hill III on piano.
Tickets: General admission with the à la carte menu is $25. A Dinner & Show package is $100 and includes a three-course dinner. A VIP Dinner & Show package is $120 and includes a three-course dinner plus stage-front seating.
Dining and fees: Beverages are not included. Checkout prices include taxes and fees, and a $15 server gratuity is added to the Dinner & Show package charges.
Run time: The page lists a performance window from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM but does not provide a separate run-time description.
Ages: No age restriction is stated on the page.
Accessibility: No accessibility information is provided on the page.
Streaming: The page directs audiences to Chris’ Jazz Cafe’s YouTube channel to watch live.