This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2023.
Events
February
February 5 – At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, winners include Wayne Shorter, Samara Joy, and Arturo O'Farrill. Snarky Puppy wins best contemporary instrumental album for their 2022 album Empire Central, Samara Joy wins best Vocal Jazz album for her 2022 album Linger Awhile. Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Linda May Han Oh, Nicholas Payton & Matthew Stevens win Best Jazz Instrumental Album for their album New Standards Volume 1.
April
April 14 – First day of Coachella 2023, a two weekend event, occurs. Jazz musicians in attendance are The Comet is Coming and Domi and JD Beck
April 15 – After 8 years, British band GoGo Penguin's contract with Blue Note Records ends, and the band switches to XXIM Records, a record label more typically associated with neoclassical music and progressive electronic music.
May
May 17 – The Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards are presented. Charles Lloyd wins Lifetime Achievement in Jazz award. Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington wins Musician of The Year. Singer Samara Joy wins Up & Coming Musician of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. Ashley Kahn wins Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism award.
May 31 – The tapes for a long lost, unreleased John Coltrane live album with Eric Dolphy are found at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
June
June 7 – The San Francisco Jazz Festival takes place in the United States. Jacob Collier and Samara Joy are in attendance.
June 13 – The Grammys announce a new award category: Best Alternative Jazz Album
June 21 – The 37th Annual Syracuse Jazz Fest takes place in the United States. Herbie Hancock and Gladys Knight are in attendance
June 30 – The 36th annual Saskatchewan Jazz Festival kicked off in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
July
July 7 – The 56th Pori Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place in Finland.
July 28 – The Blue Note Jazz Festival opens in Napa, California, hosted by Dave Chappelle and headlined by Mary Blige, Chance The Rapper and Nas. Robert Glasper is the artist in residence. Notable attendees include George Clinton, Anderson .Paak, Domi and JD Beck
August
August 4 – The Newport Jazz Festival opens in the United States. Notable attendees include Kamasi Washington, Domi and JD Beck, Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, Herbie Hancock, Samara Joy, Lakecia Benjamin and Thundercat
August 25 - A 3 episode Amazon Prime biographical documentary miniseries about the life of Wayne Shorter through several decades releases, titled Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity
September
September 22 – The 65th Monterey Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place in the United States, with Lakecia Benjamin as the artist in residence. Notable attendees include Herbie Hancock, Snarky Puppy, Samara Joy, and Thundercat
October
October 13 – Stockholm Jazz Festival took place in Sweden.
December
December 5 - NPR Music ranks Meshell Ndegeocello's The Omnichord Real Book and Yussef Dayes's Black Classical Music among the 50 best albums of 2023.
December 7 - The New York Times ranks Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah's Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning as the best jazz album of 2023, followed by Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)) in #2
December 13 - Stereogum ranks Matana Roberts' Coin Coin Chapter 5: In The Garden as the best jazz album of 2023, followed by Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)) in #2
December 19 - NPR Music ranks Meshell Ndegeocello's The Omnichord Real Book as the best jazz album of 2023
December 26 - The Guardian ranks Tyshawn Sorey's Continuing as the best jazz album of 2023
December 31 - Ed Cherry's Are We There Yet? ends off the year with the most radio airplay as documented by JazzWeek
Albums
All critically reviewed albums ranked
Metacritic
AnyDecentMusic
Deaths
January
January 10 – Dennis Budimir, 84, American jazz and rock guitarist (The Wrecking Crew)
January 17 – Richard Oesterreicher, 90, Austrian jazz guitarist and conductor
January 18 – Marcel Zanini, 99, Turkish-born French jazz clarinetist
January 23 – Carol Sloane, 85, American jazz singer
February
February 2 – Butch Miles, 78, American drummer
February 13
Guido Basso, 85, Canadian trumpeter.
Alain Goraguer, 91, French pianist, arranger and film composer
February 17 – Jerry Dodgion, 90, American saxophonist and flautist
February 25 – Carl Saunders, 80, American trumpeter, composer and educator
March
March 1 – Wally Fawkes, 98, Canadian-British clarinettist and satirical cartoonist
March 2 – Wayne Shorter, 89, tenor saxophonist
March 3 – Carlos Garnett, 84, Panamanian-born jazz saxophonist
March 9 – Robin Lumley, 74, British jazz keyboardist (Brand X)
March 13 – Simon Emmerson, 67, English jazz and worldbeat guitarist (Weekend, Working Week, Afro Celt Sound System)
March 14 – Gloria Bosman, 50, South African jazz singer
March 15 – Théo de Barros, 80, Brazilian jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer (Quarteto Novo)
March 16 – Tony Coe, 88, English jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
April
April 5 – Duško Gojković, 91, Serbian jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger
April 7 – Kidd Jordan, 87, American saxophonist
April 9 – Karl Berger, 88, German jazz pianist, composer, and educator
April 16 - Ahmad Jamal, 92, American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader
May
May 14 – Bernt Rosengren, 85, Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist
May 24 – Bill Lee, 94, American bassist
June
June 5 – Astrud Gilberto, 83, Brazilian vocalist
June 16 – Peter Dickinson, 88, English experimental pianist and composer
June 20 – Peter Brötzmann, 82, German free jazz saxophonist
July
July 17 – Barry Martyn, 82, English jazz drummer
July 21 – Tony Bennett, 96, American jazz and traditional pop singer
July 22 – Knut Riisnæs, 77, Norwegian jazz musician
October
October 17 – Carla Bley, 87, American jazz composer and pianist
November
November 4 – Michel Pilz, 78, German jazz clarinetist
November 8 – Dino Piana, 93, Italian jazz musician
November 20 – Mars Williams, 68, American jazz and rock saxophonist (The Psychedelic Furs, The Waitresses)
November 21 – Horacio Malvicino, 94, Argentine jazz and tango guitarist and composer
December
December 6 – Michel Sardaby, 88, French jazz pianist
December 26 – Tony Oxley, 85, English jazz drummer
December 29 – Les McCann, 88, American jazz pianist and singer