Whether he’s conducting The Helios Jazz Orchestra or blissfully playing Brazilian jazz with the O Som Do Jazz sextet, St. Petersburg College (SPC) music professor David Manson is a cool cat. He can wail on a trombone or coax honeyed tones from singers like world-famous Alexis Cole. He is also driving force behind the St. Petersburg Jazz Festival, which he founded in 2008. You’ll have an opportunity to check him out for yourself from April 8th through the 11th, when the 2026 festival takes place at the Warehouse Arts District’s (WADA) ArtsXChange Stage in downtown St. Pete, presented by Manson’s nonprofit EMIT in collaboration with WADA.
The highly anticipated program brings four evenings of great jazz to St. Pete, featuring performances by Cole with Manson’s Helios Jazz Orchestra, the Johnbern Thomas Quintet, Randy Bordon Trio, Hot Club SRQ, Austrian-born pianist and Steinway Artist Markus Gottschlich and his trio (who is also the executive director of WADA), Martin Bejerano performing original music influenced by his Cuban and American roots with his trio and special guest Dafnis Prieto with the Downtown Trio Plus One.
Manson explains that he is particularly excited about this year’s line-up.
“Alexis has the perfect voice for big band and she has been all over the world. Helios Jazz Orchestra is an ensemble in its 17th year, featuring the top players in the Tampa Bay area. Johnbern Thomas is a Haitian drummer and composer and has a wonderful group in Orlando and it’s a multicultural sound,” Manson offers. “For a distinctive European flavor of jazz, Markus is a fantastic pianist and composer. His music is rich in harmonic content and very communicative.”
The St. Petersburg Jazz Festival’s appeal is somewhat different than the other local jazz festivals, Manson offers.
“We enjoy presenting adventurous music that is not so commercial,” he asserts. “I love mainstream jazz and swing music, but we like to showcase music that is not as well-known from Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, even Django Reinhardt gypsy-style jazz. In the past years, we’ve been multi-venue, but this year all four evening concerts will be at WADA’s outdoor stage. People can dance, admire the stars and enjoy the fabulous spring weather.”
In addition to the concerts, SPC will host two workshops free for festival attendees. Cole will offer jazz vocal tips on April 7th at 11am and Thomas will demonstrate unique Haitian rhythms for SPC students in the Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) degree program and anyone else who wants to attend on April 9th at 12:30pm.
Visit stpetejazzfest.com to learn more.
