71 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA 413-648-SHEA

Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares Presents: Darius Jones Trio

Saturday, September 13, 2025, 7:30 pm until 9:30 pm
Darius Jones (alto sax), Chris Lightcap (bass), Jason Nazary (drums). Photo: Maurice Robertson

Darius Jones Trio

Sat, Sep 13 | The Shea Theater

Darius Jones (alto sax), Chris Lightcap (bass), Jason Nazary (drums). Photo: Maurice Robertson

Time & Location

Sep 13, 2025, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

The Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA 01376

About The Event

Darius Jones has created a recognizable voice as a critically acclaimed saxophonist and composer by embracing individuality and innovation in the tradition of Black music. Jones has been awarded the Van Lier Fellowship, Jerome Foundation Artist-in-Residence and commission, Western Front residency and commission, French-American Jazz Exchange Award, Robert D. Bielecki Foundation Award, and Fromm Music Foundation commission from Harvard University. Jones has received acclaim for not only his studio albums featuring music and images evocative of Black Futurism, but also for his commissioned work as a composer throughout the United States and Canada.

In October 2024, Jones released Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) on AUM Fidelity. Jones was featured on the cover of The Wire in April 2024 (#482), and Jones' fLuXkit Vancouver (i?t?s? suite but sacred) co-released on Northern Spy and We Jazz Records in 2023, was listed as #3 in The Wire's Releases of the Year 1-50 and The Wire's #1 Jazz & Improv, and was also listed among NPR's top 50 albums of the year. Jones was the 2022 MATA Festival artist in residence and festival curator, where he premiered Colored School No. 3 (Extra Credit). In 2021, Jones released Raw Demoon Alchemy (A Lone Operation) on Northern Spy Records. In 2024, Jones joined the Roulette Intermedium Board of Directors, and became a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble.

Jones has collaborated with Gerald Cleaver, Oliver Lake, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, Craig Taborn, Wet Ink Ensemble, Jason Moran, Trevor Dunn, Dave Burrell, Eric Revis, Matthew Shipp, Marshall Allen, Nasheet Waits, Branford Marsalis, Travis Laplante, Fay Victor, Cooper-Moore, Matana Roberts, JD Allen, Nicole Mitchell, Georgia Ann Muldrow, International Contemporary Ensemble and many more.

Jones was a JJA Jazz Awards finalist nominee for Alto Saxophonist of the Year in 2022 and 2013, and the 2019 Downbeat Annual Critics Poll winner for Rising Star Alto Saxophone. Jones has been featured in Pitchfork, The Wire, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Downbeat, among others. Critics have called him "robustly creative" (Nate Chinen, NYT) and "one of NYC's most incisive and passionate saxists" (Time Out), and "one of the most impressive and unique voices of our time" (Troy Collins, All About Jazz). Jones has been a contributing writer with featured essays, “Year of Demoon (My Life Inside 2020)” in The Brooklyn Rail (September 2021) and “We Can Change the Country" New Music Box (October 2020).

Jones graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies in 2003, earning a Master of Arts in Jazz Performance/Composition from New York University in 2008, where he also taught New Music Improvisation as an adjunct professor. Jones is an Assistant Professor of Music at Wesleyan University.

Jones’ music is a confrontation against apathy and ego, hoping to inspire authenticity that compels us to be better humans.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors and Underwriters

Australis Aquaculture • Artisan Beverage Cooperative • Benjamin Company • Berkshire Brewing Company • Cohn and Company Real Estate Agency • Community Credit • Common Capital • Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts • Connecticut River Internists • Dean's Beans • Easthampton Savings Bank • FirstLight GDF Suezna •Gagne Wealth Management Group • Gill Tavern • Gilmore and Farrell Insurance Company • Goff Media • Great Falls Harvest • Green River Festival • Greenfield Community College • Greenfield Cooperative Bank • Greenfield Savings Bank • Loot • Massachusetts Cultural Council • Montague Bookmill • Montague WebWorks • Northeast Solar • People's Pint • Rainmaker Consulting • The Rendezvous • Solar Store of Greenfield • Stobierski and Connor • Told Video • True North Transit • Turn It Up

Exciting News for A Happening V: The Bestiary

Cloudgaze and Eggtooth Productions are thrilled to announce that we have received generous grants from the Mass Cultural Council as well as the Community Foundation of Western MA to support our 2025 Immersive Arts Festival, “A Happening V: The Bestiary.”

This festival will transform the Shea Theater into an exploration of theme, hosting installations, music, theatrical performances, and movement pieces, featuring the collective contributions of over 50 local artists. Audiences will experience otherworldly environments and narratives inspired by Aesop's Fables, George Orwell's Animal Farm, newly imagined cautionary tales, and creature myths of all origins.

Thanks to the Mass Cultural Council for their vital support this year.We'd also like to thank the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts for their support in the form of a Flexible Funding grant. We couldn't do this work without you!