6th Annual CPS International Jazz Festival

The Cincinnati Jazz Academy takes the stage at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut Street, on Saturday, February 28 at the 6th Annual CPS International Jazz Festival. The concert is the culmination of a full day of music, learning, and celebration highlighting the creativity of Cincinnati Public Schools students and professional artists, sponsored by Activities Beyond the Classroom.

This year’s featured musician is acclaimed trombonist Robin Eubanks, whose career spans performance, composition, and education. Eubanks will perform alongside Cincinnati Jazz Academy students, led by CJA Artistic Director Ralph DiSylvestro, in an evening concert in the Aronoff’s Procter and Gamble Hall at 7:00 pm. Admission is free and no tickets are required.

The festival offers a rich schedule of events beginning in the afternoon with a CPS Variety Show at 2:45 pm in the Jarson Kaplan Theatre, showcasing student talent across disciplines. At 5:00 pm, audiences are invited to a documentary screening and panel discussion exploring the history of jazz in Cincinnati, connecting local legacy with contemporary practice.

Throughout the event, visitors can enjoy live singing with audience participation in the lobby, as well as artwork created by CPS art students and Sister Cities.

The CPS International Jazz Festival celebrates jazz as a living art form and affirms its role in education, storytelling, and community connection.

About Robin Eubanks:
Robin Eubanks is widely regarded as one of the premier jazz trombonists of his generation. Whether performing with his own ensembles—Mental Images and EB3—or with groups such as the SFJAZZ Collective and the Dave Holland Quintet and Big Band, his artistry has left a powerful and lasting impact on audiences worldwide. Born into a deeply musical family, Robin was influenced early by his mother, a music educator; his uncle, renowned jazz pianist Ray Bryant; his brother Kevin Eubanks, longtime musical director of The Tonight Show; and his brother Duane, an acclaimed trumpeter.

Robin graduated cum laude from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, studying trombone alongside theory, harmony, composition, and arranging. After relocating to New York City, he built an extraordinary career collaborating with artists such as Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Eddie Palmieri, Sun Ra, Barbra Streisand, The Rolling Stones, and Talking Heads. He is a Grammy Award winner for performances on Michael Brecker’s Wide Angles and Dave Holland’s What Goes Around and Overtime.

A dedicated educator, Robin taught for 20 years at the Oberlin Conservatory as a tenured professor of jazz trombone and composition, and has also taught at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, and the Prince Claus Conservatoire in the Netherlands. A multiple winner of DownBeat Readers’ and Critics’ Polls and the 2014 JazzTimes Critics Poll for Best Trombonist, he is also a prolific composer whose works are performed and recorded internationally.