($10-$15 + DICE fees | 6:30pm & 8pm Sets) Grupo Arizona returns to the Century Room after a succesful summer residency and keeps the music going!

Grupo Arizona is a dynamic classical and jazz fusion chamber ensemble rooted in Mexican and Latin musical traditions, based in Tucson, Arizona. Their mission is to elevate and expand the reach of the rich musical genres from Mexico and across Latin America. Their performances pay homage to the original artists while also serving as a creative outlet for them to explore their own musical education and creativity through unique arrangements.

($15-$25 Tickets + DICE fees | 6:30pm Show) Join up-and-coming pianist JT Ho-Mueller for an evening of jazz standards and modern original compositions, accompanied by Arizona’s very own Eric Nakanishi (saxophone) Kenji Wagner (bass) and Kenji Lancaster (drums).

JT Ho-Mueller

Joseph Thiền Ho-Mueller aka JT is a pianist, educator, composer, and producer. Hailing from Charleston, South Carolina, JT is enamored with all types of genres from the sultriness of RNB, to the geometrical sounds of jazz, to the raw nature of indie. His catalog of achievements is diverse, from the opportunity to perform for the TEDx Charleston talks, to studying with musicians such as grammy award winners John Pattituchi, Danilo Perez, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, and many more. He has performed with people such as Blaque Dynamite, one of the top jazz drummers in the world, Adam Dietch, the drummer for Lettuce, and Susan Trucks for the Tedeschi Trucks band. A previous instructor at the Charleston Jazz Academy camp, JT at the ripe age of 22 has garnered several years of teaching experiences that have included master classes, private lessons, and workshops.

($10-$15 Tickets + DICE fees | 8:30pm Show) Space Travelers Union Presents: Cecyl Ruehlen

Cecyl Ruehlen (b.1984) is an intermedia artist, performer, educator and curator. While they have led a relatively nomadic life across the US, Ruehlen lives in the Sonoran Desert, morphing iterative actions, collaborative projects, objects and varying recording processes into topological contortions with an array of chimeric instruments and mercurial sound forms. Their forensic mode of composing is guided by deep listening and meteoric super-impositions that distort, abstract, decompose and explode internal and salvaged materials, shaping a practice that is as much drifting through temporary obsessions as it is devotional.

Ruehlen’s prolific and collaborative life has placed them at the nexus of underground and experimental scenes in the western United States in recent years, pouring forth countless albums, performance ventures, shifting monikers, and cultural alliances, largely through operating of a label and DIY spaces, teaching, and touring sporadically since the late ’00s.

This quartet performance, accompanied by Ryan Wheless (saxophone + FX), Kenji Ono Lancaster (drums), and Colin McIlrath (bass), features Ruehlen’s latest construct — the cosmic füga — an imagined zither of flight, inspired by ancient vibrations while simultaneously grappling with contemporary sound worlds and electro-acoustic formations. Fü-ga comes from Latin, meaning to escape, or to activate rapid motion (fugitive | a fugue state). This entirely wooden, two-tiered, double bridged, thirteen string, stereo electrified, horizontal object explodes with the energy and complexity of a chamber group as well as the quiet flicker of a single insect singing at the edge of twilight on a late summer’s eve.

This performance is presented as part of the ongoing Space Travelers Union Presents residency at the Century Room.

Space Travelers Union is a creative-musician collective formed in the Arizona desert through the meeting of composition, improvisation, and electronic signal. Operating with a rotating cast drawn from the American Southwest, the project has reached international audiences through BBC6, Radio France’s FIP, JazzFM, and Gilles Peterson’s WorldwideFM, with additional recognition from Bandcamp’s “New and Notable” and YouTube Music’s Jazz Hotlist.

($30-$40 | 6:30pm & 8:30pm Shows) Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer Kevin Hays is internationally recognized as one of the most original and compelling musicians of his generation. He makes his Century Room debut with bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Jimmy Macbride.

Kevin’s live performances are joyous and deeply expressive, blending his lyrical original compositions with exquisite arrangements spanning Milton Nascimento, The Beatles, Wayne Shorter, and Cole Porter. In March 2026, Kevin will record a live album at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City with Thomas Morgan and Brian Blade.

Kevin’s recordings have received critical acclaim from The New York Times, DownBeat, and JazzTimes. Notable collaborations include Brad Mehldau (Modern Music, Nonesuch), as well as world tours with James Taylor, Sonny Rollins, John Scofield, Chris Potter, Roy Haynes, and many others.

“There are plenty of talented pianists… but few have Hays’ melodic charms and sense of style.” – The New Yorker ‘Best of the Year’ list

“A jolt of joy.” – The New York Times

“He’s all encompassing. Phenomenally so!” – John Scofield

“Kevin Hays is a true original. Everything he plays has a deep intelligence and swing.” – Brad Mehldau

($10-15 + Dice Fees | 10:30pm Show) After Friday night’s show, join saxophonist Eric Nakanishi along with his band for Late Night!

($25-$35 + DICE fees | 6:30pm & 8:30pm Shows) NYC based guitarist Pete Smith and bassist Dave Ambrosio come together for an intimate evening celebrating the timeless music of Antônio Carlos Jobim. A dynamic and widely traveled guitarist, Smith has performed at major international festivals, toured across more than 30 countries, and collaborated with artists ranging from Norah Jones to Donald Byrd and Michael Feinstein’s Carnegie Hall Big Band. His deep connection to Brazilian and Afro-Cuban traditions, particularly through his long-running work with Grupo Los Santos, makes him an especially compelling interpreter of Jobim’s songbook. Alongside him, Ambrosio brings over 25 years as one of New York’s most respected bassists and educators, with a career spanning collaborations with leading jazz figures and appearances in ensembles like the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra. Together, they reimagine classic Jobim melodies with a jazz swing.

Pete Smith (guitar) Dave Ambrosio (bass) Arthur Vint (drums)

($10-$15 + DICE fees | 10:30pm & 11:30pm Sets) After Saturday night’s show, stick around for late night with bassist Adam Gay and his band!

($20-$30 + DICE fees | 4:30pm Show ) Saxophonist, flutist, and composer John David Simon stands as a commanding and distinctive voice in today’s jazz landscape. A seasoned bandleader and internationally recognized performer, Simon brings a rare combination of fiery virtuosity, lyrical depth, and masterful swing to every stage he graces.

Over the course of his career, he has shared the spotlight with iconic artists including Ella Fitzgerald, J. J. Johnson, Jason Marsalis, Chaka Khan, T. S. Monk, and Ray Charles — a testament to his versatility and stature across generations and styles.

His formidable big band credentials include performances with the orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Illinois Jacquet, Artie Shaw, and Jimmy Dorsey, affirming his deep roots in the great orchestral jazz tradition.

Simon’s artistic legacy is further distinguished by his inclusion in The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler. His original compositions are published in The Real Philadelphia Book (Temple University Press) and permanently archived in the Library of Congress — underscoring his lasting contribution to the art form.

This performance features Aiden Oh (piano) Adam Gay (bass) and Andrew Flores (drums)

($5-$10 + DICE fees | 6:30pm-9:30pm) Come sit in with multi-instrumentalist Max Goldschmid and the Century Room house band! Band opens up with a short set followed by an instrumental jam until 9:30pm. Musicians who sit in get in free thanks to the Sonora Arts & Music Initiative!

($25-$35 Tickets + DICE fees | 6:30pm & 8:30pm Shows) Saxophonist and composer John Simon fronts the 17-piece Century Jazz Orchestra!

JOHN SIMON

Saxophonist, flutist, and composer John David Simon stands as a commanding and distinctive voice in today’s jazz landscape. A seasoned bandleader and internationally recognized performer, Simon brings a rare combination of fiery virtuosity, lyrical depth, and masterful swing to every stage he graces.

Over the course of his career, he has shared the spotlight with iconic artists including Ella Fitzgerald, J. J. Johnson, Jason Marsalis, Chaka Khan, T. S. Monk, and Ray Charles — a testament to his versatility and stature across generations and styles.

His formidable big band credentials include performances with the orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Illinois Jacquet, Artie Shaw, and Jimmy Dorsey, affirming his deep roots in the great orchestral jazz tradition.

Simon’s artistic legacy is further distinguished by his inclusion in The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler. His original compositions are published in The Real Philadelphia Book (Temple University Press) and permanently archived in the Library of Congress — underscoring his lasting contribution to the art form.

CENTURY JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Inspired by the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the 17-piece Century Jazz Orchestra performs every Monday night at the Century Room starting at 6:30pm. An intergenerational ensemble, the CJO fosters community with students, teachers and professionals performing alongside each other and is supported by the Sonora Arts & Music Initiative 501(c)3. Come relive the magic of the big band era every Monday as the CJO keeps the music alive and thriving in the 21st Century!