{"id":124085,"date":"2025-09-14T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaii.com\/?p=124085"},"modified":"2025-09-13T16:21:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T02:21:31","slug":"maui-jazz-blues-festival-returns-to-kapalua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaii.com\/maui-jazz-blues-festival-returns-to-kapalua\/","title":{"rendered":"Maui Jazz & Blues Festival Returns to Kapalua"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"jazz<\/a>

NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis. Photo by Kenneth Martinez Burgmaier<\/p><\/div>\n

As a filmmaker, Kenneth Martinez Burgmaier traveled to more than 60 countries filming music festivals. He was especially fond of jazz and blues festivals, but never saw one come to Hawai\u02bbi, where he has lived for the past 30 years. So he decided to create his own.<\/p>\n

Today, Burgmaier has produced more than 75 jazz and blues festivals over 25 years across four Hawaiian islands.<\/p>\n

From Oct. 20\u201326, the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival returns to Kapalua. The weeklong event takes place at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, known for its world-class hospitality and support for the arts. The festival features Grammy Award-winning musicians and internationally renowned instrumentalists performing jazz, blues and Cajun zydeco \u2014 a fusion of Cajun and zydeco music played with accordion, fiddles, washboards and French lyrics.<\/p>\n

Burgmaier also hosts “Jazz Alley TV<\/span><\/a>,” a jazz, blues and world music television series that has been airing for 35 years. The show sponsors Burgmaier\u2019s Jazz & Blues Festivals, hosted annually on Hawai\u02bbi Island at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel; on Maui at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua; on O\u02bbahu at The Ritz-Carlton O\u02bbahu, Turtle Bay; and on L\u0101na\u02bbi at Four Seasons Resort L\u0101na\u02bbi. He said attendees include a mix of Hawai\u02bbi residents and visitors from California, New York, Japan and beyond.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/a>

Grammy-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal Photo by Kenneth Martinez Burgmaier<\/p><\/div>\n

Grammy-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal, a regular at the Big Island Jazz & Music Festival, will perform on Maui for the first time this year. He said he\u2019s excited to reunite with local Hawai\u02bbi musicians as well as New Orleans band The Iguanas.<\/p>\n

Marienthal, who frequently performs on cruise ships and at venues around the world, said Hawai\u02bbi offers a unique experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cHawai\u02bbi is a special place to get to play,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s inclusive, loving, open \u2026 an environment for musicians to feel comfortable to play their music.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Burgmaier is capping attendance at 1,000 people to preserve an intimate atmosphere. In past years, the festival has drawn as many as 3,500 attendees to the pavilion at The Ritz-Carlton, which Burgmaier said felt too large. He\u2019s especially excited to bring Cajun zydeco to Hawai\u02bbi \u2014 a genre rarely heard outside of Louisiana.<\/p>\n

Two of the featured Cajun zydeco musicians, Wilson Savoy and Jourdan Thibodeaux, were recently featured on \u00a0“<\/span>60 Minutes”<\/span><\/a> \u00a0in a segment about preserving Cajun musical traditions \u2013 one that stretches back eight generations in Savoy\u2019s family. On the show, Thibodeaux spoke passionately about cultural survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou either live your culture or you kill your culture,\u201d Thibodeaux said. \u201cThere is no in-between.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the phrase, which he incorporates into his lyrics (in French), reflects the homogenizing effects of globalization. He believes it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility to hold onto their identity \u2014 and he recommits every day to “live his culture.”<\/p>\n

One of the festival\u2019s most beloved moments, Burgmaier said, is the final jam session on closing night, when all the musicians return to the stage for a hana hou<\/em> (encore) \u2014 a once-in-a-lifetime experience.<\/p>\n

In support of local residents impacted by the 2023 Maui wildfires, the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival and The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, are donating more than 100 festival tickets to fire survivors in Lahaina.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored to bring the Maui Jazz & Blues Festival back to the west side of Maui,\u201d Burgmaier said in a recent press release. \u201cAfter everything this community has been through, we\u2019re ready to turn up the volume and deliver an epic weekend of world-class music and good vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NEA Jazz Master and Big Chief Donald Harrison. Photo by Kenneth Martinez Burgmaier.<\/p><\/div>\n

Maui Jazz & Blues Festival Schedule<\/h3>\n

Friday, Oct. 3<\/strong>
Festival Kickoff Concert<\/strong>
Featuring Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis and the Royal Family of Jazz
6\u20139 p.m.
Alaloa Lounge, The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua
Free<\/p>\n

Monday, Oct. 20<\/strong>
Maui Jazz & Blues Festival Band<\/strong>
Featuring Fast Freddy and the Blue Lava Blues Quartet
6\u20139 p.m.
Alaloa Lounge
Free<\/p>\n

Tuesday, Oct. 21<\/strong>
Celebrate Women in Jazz & Blues<\/strong>
With the Maui Jazz & Blues Wahine Trio:
Dr. Joie Taylor (saxophone), N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b winner Louise Lambert (piano), Andrea Walls (violin)
6\u20139 p.m.
Alaloa Lounge
Free<\/p>\n

Wednesday, Oct. 22<\/strong>
Maui Jazz & Blues Fest Trio<\/strong>
Featuring Grammy-winning Hawaiian singer-songwriter Kalani Pe\u02bba, Grammy-nominated Mark Johnstone, and special appearances by other Grammy-winning jazz artists
6\u20139 p.m.
Alaloa Lounge
Free<\/p>\n

Thursday, Oct. 23<\/strong>
Cajun Zydeco Blues Jubilee<\/strong>
Featuring Grammy winner Wilson Savoy, Cajun ambassador Jourdan Thibodeaux, Grammy-nominated Roddie Romero, Chris Thomas King, Mark Johnstone, Dave Graber, and Alex Keeney
6\u20139 p.m.
Alaloa Lounge
$10 per person<\/p>\n

Friday, Oct. 24<\/strong>
New Orleans JazzFest Experience<\/strong>
With The Iguanas, Eric Marienthal, Grammy-winning trombonist Charlie Halloran, and JazzFest musicians
6\u20139 p.m.
Alaloa Lounge
$10 per person<\/p>\n

Saturday, Oct. 25<\/strong>
Main Festival Event<\/strong>
Featuring:<\/p>\n