FEBRUARY/MARCH 2026 | 13 Produced by the nonpro t Berks Arts, the event kicks o with the 35th Anniversary Celebration Berks Awards Night on March 19, followed on March 20 by Brian Culbertson, the pianist and multiinstrumentalist who rst performed at the festival in 1996 and has returned for a grand total of 26 additional shows. Many contemporary jazz greats are back this year as well, including trumpeter Chris Botti, saxophonists Vincent Ingala and Boney James, along with the bands Spyro Gyra and the Yellowjackets. e festival uno cially concludes on March 29, with a concert by saxman Eric Marienthal and pianist David Benoit, accompanied by the Reading Pops Orchestra. Tish Davis, the new Berks Arts executive director, is instrumental in booking the talent that keeps the festival pro table, along with making sure the artists are well cared for. “Our festival is very di erent in that it’s staged in multiple locations for over 10 days,” Davis said. “Being a nonpro t organization, we rely on donations and sponsorships. Getting new sponsors and people who want to give to our organization has been a learning experience. You have to plan out the shows and everything involved, like knowing the number of seats the room can hold and what to charge for tickets. One of the reasons we have repeat performers is because those are the artists who ll seats.” e 35th anniversary year, however, isn’t just a repeat of the past. ere are exciting new additions to this year’s Berks Jazz Fest, along with a special announcement. Davis is thrilled about the March 27 show by a rst-time festival artist, R&B soul singer Eric Benét. Another artist new to the talent roster is saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, who performs on March 28 with Marcus Miller and Friends. And Berks Sinfonietta, the local chamber orchestra, will make its inaugural performance on March 28 with selections from the George Gershwin songbook in “Gershwin Comes Alive.” e Berks Arts team, a wheel with many spokes that oversees hundreds of festival volunteers, has expanded with new hires. Davis describes the addition of John Ruggles and Chanteé Gibson as “young creatives who bring fresh ideas.” It also should be noted that a recent collaboration with Ticketmaster now makes it easy to purchase tickets online. And there’s an option to buy tickets without additional fees at a box o ce located at Reading’s Santander Performing Arts Center. But the really big news is a special invitation to experience all that Berks County has to o er in April, nationally known as Jazz Appreciation Month. The slogan representing Berks County is “Every Stop Has a Story” and the story for April is all about connecting with others through the many forms of jazz music, from contemporary and traditional to swing. (Left to right) Najee, Vincent Ingala, Spyro Gyra and Boney James continued on page 14 Photo: Describe The Fauna Photo: Bobby Quillard Photo: David White Studio NYC Photo: Will Holton
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