Jazz60

Jazz Vespers with Michael Howell, Andrea Wolpfler, Ken Filiano (SPC Archive)

Jazz Memorial for Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez (Martin Cohen)

Arturo O’Farrill at Billy Strayhorn’s piano (Brian Hatton)

Jazz marks its 60th anniversary at Saint Peter’s: “The First Church of Jazz,” or more simply, “The Jazz Church.” This milestone is not merely a moment to look back — it is an invitation to celebrate today and to look to the future.

Jazz Vespers was and remains at the center of the Jazz Ministry. The story of its development is an enduring guiding light. First held as a one-time liturgy, it quickly evolved: initially into a series at three different Manhattan locations, and then, beginning on May 15, 1966, into a weekly offering at Saint Peter’s. This early responsiveness and flexibility continues to inspire Jazz Vespers.

While temporarily paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jazz Vespers retooled as an online experience viewed by people all over the world. After a broken city water main destroyed the Sanctuary in 2021, the liturgy nestled into the Living Room. Now, in its return to the rebuilt Sanctuary, with a new AV system, Jazz Vespers is Saint Peter’s fastest- growing weekly offering. History helps us see this as no surprise: Jazz Vespers is not simply about musicians playing for an audience, but about a community persistently being called together to be shaped by the deep power of jazz.

Jazz Vespers is no longer Saint Peter’s alone. It is now held in houses of worship and other spaces throughout the world. Wherever it is held, Jazz Vespers gathers people together, fosters resilience, celebrates humanity, calls for justice, and supports the search for meaning and truth — artistry at its fullest.

Saint Peter’s unique Jazz Memorial tradition began with Billy Strayhorn’s funeral on June 5, 1967. Many offered tributes, including Duke Ellington. Just weeks later, John Coltrane died. His memorial was held July 21, 1967, with The Albert Ayler Quartet and The Ornette Coleman Quartet playing musical tributes. Hundreds — if not more than a thousand — Jazz Memorials for key members and friends of the jazz community, as well as the wider jazz world, have taken place ever since. This anniversary year provides occasion to compile a roster of Jazz Memorials. Please share your memories via jazz60@saintpeters.org.

Jazz Vespers grew still more. On October 11, 1970, Saint Peter’s held a jazz festival to mark the fifth anniversary of Jazz Vespers. All Nite Soul began at 5:00 P.M. with Jazz Vespers and ended at 5:00 A.M. with breakfast. Joe Newman’s The Story of Pentecost, Eddie Bonnemere’s Missa Laetare and Clark Terry’s An Offering of Laughter were joined by performances by Ruth Brisbane, Alice Coltrane, Roy Haynes, Sheila Jordan, Stella Marrs, Dr. Billy Taylor and many more. Although paused a number of years ago, momentum is growing among the jazz community to host All Nite Soul once again.

For a church that once did the unthinkable — namely, bringing jazz into church — this very same institution also took jazz outside. In partnership with The Arts and Architecture Conservancy at Saint Peter’s, Grand Central Partnership and BXP, Jazz on the Plaza is New York City’s favorite community-based outdoor summer jazz festival. For more than 20 years, at no cost to the public, this series brings some of the top jazz performers into the lives of people from across the five boroughs, the tri-state area, and beyond — tourists, office workers, families, longtime fans, and the newly curious.

There are still more ways Saint Peter’s was and remains a spiritual home for jazz musicians and lovers of jazz. Over the course of this 60th anniversary year, explore more at saintpeters.org/jazz60.

Finally, please be on the lookout for a very special Gala Banquet in Spring 2026 to benefit Billy Strayhorn’s piano, damaged by the 2021 water main break, as well as the construction of three new rehearsal studios and restoration of the Music Room. When the “new Saint Peter’s” opened in 1977, a Duke Ellington Center was envisioned. In the years ahead, with the help of the community, this can become a reality.