The Koger Center for the Arts and USC Jazz Studies are thrilled to announce the performers for the inaugural Koger Jazz Heritage Festival, set for February 21-23, 2026.

Poised to become a significant event for the USC music community, the festival is presented in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center and will feature JALC trombonist Vincent Gardner and legendary trumpeter and protege of Dizzy Gillespie, the great Jon Faddis.

Koger Jazz Heritage Festival concerts include:

• Saturday, February 21: USC Jazz Alumni Concert, featuring the Amos Hoffman Trio, is at 7:30 in Koger’s Black Box Theater.
• Sunday, February 22: Vincent Gardner and USC Jazz Faculty perform at 3 p.m. in the Darla Moore School of Business Johnson Performance Hall. A member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Gardner currently serves as Director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra and an instructor at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University.
• Sunday, February 22: Jon Faddis with Left Bank Big Band pays a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie at 6 p.m. on the Koger Center main stage. Join Grammy® winning jazz trumpeter Faddis on the Grand Tier at 5:30 p.m. for a pre-concert talk.
• Monday, February 23: Jon Faddis and Friends perform a concert celebrating the conclusion of the USC Essentially Ellington Regional, a day of learning, adjudication and performance for regional high school and middle school jazz students. The outstanding high school ensemble will kick off the concert, followed by Jon Faddis, Left Bank Big Band, and special guest artists at 7:30 p.m., Koger Center for the Arts.