How lucky are we to welcome back the incomparable Etta Cox to City of Asylum for a splendid summer night of captivating vocals? This July, the eight-time winner of “Best Jazz Vocalist” in Pittsburgh and Steel City icon brings her unequaled stage presence and vocal prowess to Alphabet City. For decades, Etta has kept audiences rapt with her genre-crossing and transformative performances. This summer, Etta will regale audiences with beloved jazz tracks and reimagined hidden gems. And there’s no need to wonder if she will perform your favorite songs—attendees are encouraged to come prepared with song requests!

Nothing says summer is here like the arrival of the Kente Summer Madness series at City of Asylum! The first of three concerts kicks off this July with legendary Pittsburgh guitarist Mark Strickland. He has collaborated with some of the jazz scene’s most notable players including Grady Tate, Groove Holmes, Michelle Benson, and Gene Ludwig. In addition, he has produced or engineered projects for jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Dakota Staton. 

In an interview with Jazz Guitar Today, Mark noted the tenacity of the many “monster players” Pittsburgh’s jazz scene has produced over the years and their influence on his chops as a musician: “You never knew what to expect, but it kept you sharp!” 

Mark Strickland has been influenced by Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and other jazz and R&B legends.  Currently, Mark maintains a full-time performance schedule and is also a dedicated music educator. He has taught at the University of Pittsburgh since 2019. At Pitt, he offers individual guitar lessons and teaches ensemble groups. 

Pittsburgh’s resident pop star and powerhouse Mai Khôi is leaving the city and starting her next chapter in Philadelphia—but not without a rockin’ farewell show. The alumna City of Asylum Artist-in-Residence returns with her group, the Dissidents.

Mai Khôi & the Dissidents was originally formed in 2016 with Vietnamese musicians, but the group was forced to disband due to government pressure. Khôi herself fled to the US in 2019, where she has lived in exile ever since. In 2021, she re-formed Mai Khôi & the Dissidents with American musicians, alongside pianist and composer Mark Micchelli. The new band features prominent members of Pittsburgh’s jazz, experimental music, and activist communities. For this performance, Mark and Khôi have composed and arranged a powerful style of music that reflects the turmoil of the world and the hope that continues to shine.

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a pre-selected theme. This July, Story Club PGH shatters expectations, as storytellers take on the theme Breaking Point. 

Cucina Alfabeto will be closed for the 4th of July. We look forward to seeing you after the break!

One of Pittsburgh’s newest bands, The Soup Session, brings together your favorite hip hop tracks with jazz improvisation, sampling, and spoken word. Comprised of childhood-friends-turned-lifetime-collaborators and an amalgam of up-and-comers and firmly established Pittsburgh musicians, this innovative group brings a new sound to the scene that will fill you up and keep you coming back for seconds, thirds, and fourths. For this performance, the band will be additionally accompanied by an MC and spoken word poet. 

Cucina Alfabeto is excited to present The Stemtecs Band. Led by saxophonist Calvin Stemley, they are a dynamic Pittsburgh-based ensemble known for their high-energy performances and unique blend of jazz, R&B, pop, and soul. Since its founding, The Stemtecs Band has entertained audiences throughout the region with smooth grooves, exceptional msicianship, and engaging live shows that appeal to music lovers of all ages.

Ceramic Knives is a Ukrainian-American band blending raw folk roots with experimental textures, a post-punk attitude, and haunting harmonies. Formed by multi-disciplinary artist and City of Asylum Writer-in-Residence Oleksandr Frazé-Frazénko and his wife, vocalist Mari Frazé-Frazénko, the duo reimagines traditional Eastern European songs through a cinematic lens—part ritual, part rebellion. Their stripped-down live performances weave together ghostly vocals, atmospheric guitar, and analog electronics, evoking a sound that is both ancient and eerily contemporary. Now based in Pittsburgh, Ceramic Knives channels themes of exile, memory, and resistance into a sonic landscape that cuts deep. 

In this unique Jazz Poetry performance, multi-disciplinary artist Erika Denae J launches her poetry collection, In the Mood For. A perfect fit for this festival’s long history of melding poetry and music, the poems in Erika’s collection also make up the lyrics of her upcoming companion album. It is a fusion of alternative jazz and soul that explores the pursuit of contentment at the intersection of self.This program features special arrangements by James Johnson III.

In the Mood For—where poetry inspires music and music inspires poetry—explores themes of forgiveness, self-love, faith, and healing. It is meant to embolden readers and listeners to express their fullest selves. This aim was burgeoned from Erika’s personal experience of minimizing the most authentic parts of herself.

Jazz Poetry 2026 at City of Asylum continues with Spanish pianist Marta Sánchez’s official album release concert!

During periods of isolation and solitude, Marta composed her album, For the Space You Left. Shaped by two very different emotional landscapes, the music began in 2017 during a residency at MacDowell, where Marta applied with the intention of experimenting with piano preparation and confronting one of her long-standing fears: playing solo piano.

In a month celebrating infusion, collaboration, and unique, incredible performance, who better to herald in Jazz Poetry 2026 but newly crowned Artist of the Year (DownBeat Magazine) James Brandon Lewis? The beloved six-time headliner returns to City of Asylum this May with a fresh new sound and his punk-jazz group, the Messthetics.

This performance features improvisational collaborations with visiting poets, followed by a brief intermission, and then a full set from the band.

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a pre-selected theme. This May, Story Club PGH asks that you spin us a yarn connecting to the theme Unraveled. 

Grammy-nominated bassist Stephan Crump—with a sextet, blending jazz and chamber instruments—presents Slow Water in concert.  The 67-minute piece was inspired by Water Always Wins, a book by science journalist Erica Gies about humankind’s relationship to water. Crump grew up in Memphis, near the Mississippi… and in Slow Water you can hear the bubbles of peat beneath the water, the birds above, the rustle of breezes and pounding of storms, and the river’s ever-shifting rhythms.

The Sextet:

Bass: Stephan Crump 

Trombone: Jacob Garchik

Trumpet: Kenny Warren

Vibraphone: Yuhan Su

Viola: Fung Chern Hwei

Violin: Erica Dicker

Stephan Crump is a Grammy-nominated bassist and composer, collaborator and bandleader, soloist and educator, based in New York City since 1994. A Memphis native, Crump fell for New York’s fecund scenes during his first semester at Amherst College, when he would drive hours to play late-night, weekday gigs in the West Village. He knew this is where he’d make his life and career.

Working beyond genre, he has become a crucial component of multiple New York music communities in and beyond jazz. For two decades, Crump recorded and toured as a third of Vijay Iyer’s acclaimed trio, helping to build that band’s global reputation. Meanwhile, many of his own ensembles—Rhombal, with Tyshawn Sorey, Ellery Eskelin, and Adam O’Farrill; Secret Keeper, with Mary Halvorson; Rosetta Trio, with Jamie Fox and Liberty Ellman—prize versatility and voicings in a manner that more traditional configurations often do not. His Borderlands Trio, with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Eric McPherson, brings this same mentality to a more familiar setting. Other collaborators have included Miguel Zenón, Gordon Gano, Patti Austin, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Wadada Leo Smith, Jim Campilongo, David Gilmore, Sam Newsome, Steve Lehman, Cory Smythe, Ingrid Laubrock, Okkyung Lee, Mat Maneri, and Ches Smith.

Crump’s physical and emotional connection to the bass is abundant through the new sextet Slow Water, which explores ecology and environment through composition and group communication. He teaches On Magnetism, a course in connecting more deeply through one’s instrument, after a lifetime of doing just that, and lives still in Brooklyn with his wife and collaborator, the singer Jen Chapin, and their two sons.

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Immerse yourself in the history of postcolonial Algeria as a criminal investigation plumbs the seedy underbelly of Oran. This April, bestselling author Amara Lakhous comes to City of Asylum to share his dark, captivating new psychological thriller, The Fertility of Evil. Amara is joined in conversation by moderator Anderson Tepper. 

Representing the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School, the 20-piece CAPA Jazz Orchestra presents their spring concert under the direction of Paul Thompson. They are joined by special guest Dan Meunier on steelpan. 

Music Director Paul Thompson, known by the Thursday Night Jazz crowd for his incredible talent on the bass, shares a new side of himself in this performance: that of a dedicated educator and director. Paul writes original arrangements for the group, tailored to the unique strengths and instrumentation of each year’s cohort of student musicians.

It’s the album launch of Hugo Cruz’s Figure It Out! Figure It Out is a unique and special album that Hugo has been working on since 2024. He shares, “In this musical project, I had the opportunity to work with musicians that I admire and who play a big part in the global music community.” The artists featured in this album are Pittsburgh, United States, and Cuba legends such as Roger Humphries, the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, Dave Weckl, Mario Rivera, Max Leake, Luis Valiente, Enrique Lazaga, Brenae Ali, Orlando Maraca Valle, Lou Stellute, Roberto Garcia, Howie Alexander, Hugo’s father, and more. The album connects Pittsburgh’s music scene with the Cuban music scene through a series of original compositions by Hugo Cruz. 

Detroit born baritone saxophonist Alex Harding and Transylvanian expat / New York City based pianist Lucian Ban have been at the forefront of contemporary jazz for more than two decades, collaborating and founding several groups together, releasing a handful of diverse albums for American and European labels, performing countless concerts and tours in the US and Europe all the while documenting an amazing body of music. 

The Free Association Reading Series, founded by Pat Hart and Marc Nieson, showcases local writers sharing newly written work and works-in-progress. This month’s reading spotlights writers Faith Barrett, Jessica Lanay, Frank Lehner, and Joy Priest.

“Free Association readings began in 2016 for established and emerging writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction,” explains Pat. “As the name implies, Free Association is not affiliated with a university or writing program but is for all, for established and emerging writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.”

The Free Association Reading series, founded by Pat Hart and Mark Nieson, showcases local writers sharing newly written work and works-in-progress. This month’s reading spotlights writers Shaheen Dil, Gary Jackson, Cedric Rudolph, and Nina Sabak. The reading will be followed by a community reception for performers and attendees, complete with light refreshments. 

“Free Association readings began in 2016 for established and emerging writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction,” explains Pat. “As the name implies, Free Association is not affiliated with a university or writing program but is for all, for established and emerging writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.”

City of Asylum is ecstatic to welcome jazz vocalist and composer AurallaurA (Laura Chu Wiens) for the launch of her sophomore album, The Critique of Capital: An Engaging Revue, a confident, cabaret-like romp through jazz, world music, and other genres. AurallaurA’s distinctively clear and agile voice is often layered into intricate three-part harmonies, and she makes incisive social commentary on our difficult and uncertain era. Some highlights include raucous gospel song “Oh No Honey,” percussive Latin tune “Draw You Down,” a mature and novel interpretation of “Over the Rainbow,” and a blistering samba version of the Taiwanese folk song “Gao Shan Qing.” This album leads with the strong collaboration between Laura Chu Wiens and multi-instrumentalist performer and arranger Greg Lutz, which treats the listener to an expansive palette of virtuosic solos on keys, sax, guitar, flute, clarinet, and more. 

Drummer Hugo Cruz—originally from Cuba, now firmly planted in Pittsburgh—pays homage to the legendary Pittsburgh jazz drummer Art Blakey, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Since his arrival in Pittsburgh, Hugo himself has been hugely influenced by Art Blakey, and this concert is a chance to show his gratitude to the drumming hero from the warmth of the Alphabet City stage. Hugo will be joined by his quintet, the Caminos, to travel through Art Blakey’s discography and infuse the sounds of his new home in Pittsburgh with those of his home country of Cuba. 

You don’t need to buy a plane ticket to hear the lively, bouncing sounds of the Caribbean. All you need to take you away to the islands is a concert with Steel City Calypso, a four-piece outfit comprised of Pittsburgh music-scene icons, joined in this performance by vocalist Chantal Joseph. Steel City Calypso performs everything from traditional calypso music from the island of Trinidad to a variety of music from different parts of the Caribbean and Brazil. This performance will focus on the history and role of the steel drums in Trinidad and Tobago, where the steel drums are the national instrument.

You heard it here first: bassist and composer Anton DeFade is releasing a new single. The best part? Anton and his quintet will launch the single to the public right here at City of Asylum. The launch concert will heavily feature Anton’s original music, echoing the sounds of Cannonball Adderley, Ray Brown, Horace Silver, and Art Blakey.

The single will be released on cassette, taking listeners back to the days of mixtapes and rewinding favorite tracks to listen to over and over again. Side A will include the new single, “Gaijin” (Japanese for “foreigner”), a couple of Anton’s singles from 2025, and an alternate studio take of “Gaijin.”  Side B will have three unreleased live recordings from the quintet. And for those of us itching to listen but no longer in possession of a cassette player, codes for a digital version of the release will be available. 

On March 11, 2026 Cucina Alfabeto will be closed for a buyout. We look forward to seeing you again after!

The “Pitt Jazz” program within the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Music is one of the oldest jazz studies programs in the country. Founded by Dr. Nathan Davis in 1969, it provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to develop in jazz performance, composition, and scholarship, while engaging the Pittsburgh community with entertaining and stimulating events. In this exciting Thursday Night Jazz concert, seven master’s and doctoral students showcase their exceptional work in this program presented by Dr. Yoko Suzuki and Chad Taylor, Artistic Director of Jazz Studies.

This March, test your luck on the Alphabet City stage with Story Club PGH’s Story Slam!

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a pre-selected theme. The theme for March 2026 is Against My Better Judgment. 

City of Asylum hosts Spanish composer and musician Laura González Flores, also known by her “B-Side” LauraB, in her second-ever North American tour. 

Throughout her career, LauraB has studied with musician Diego Pozo and received training from guitarists such as Antonio Reina and the Cuban composer and guitarist Alejo Martinez. She is currently studying flamenco guitar at the Fernando Moreno School with Isaac Moreno and Davinia Ballesteros. In her current project, she shows her most intimate and personal style. LauraB elevates the concept of singer-songwriter to a different and unique level that is entirely personal, brimming with intelligence and sensitivity, and rooted in the folkloric traditions of her native Andalusia, Spain.