As in previous years, mainstage concerts are split between Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, but this year the Lincoln Center concerts are at Jazz at Lincoln Center's newly opened—and jazz-friendly—Rose Hall. Concerts there include a centennial tribute to trumpeter Doc Cheatham; an all-piano evening with Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, Uri Caine, and Randy Weston; and performances by Chick Corea's band Touchstone and the Michael Camilo Trio.

The Carnegie Hall concerts include a double bill of the Wayne Shorter Quartet and the Dave Holland Quintet, a 90th-birthday party for guitarist and inventor Les Paul, a salute to Rosemary Clooney, the return of Keith Jarrett's venerable trio, a salsa night with Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto, the Dave Brubeck Quartet with the John Pizzarelli Quartet, and a pairing of two all-star trios: one with bassist Stanley Clark, banjo player B_la Fleck, and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty; the other with drummer Paul Motian, guitarist Bill Frisell, and saxophonist Joe Lavano.

Other events around the city include a screening of Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue, a Miles Davis concert film shot at the Isle of Wight in 1970; an outdoor concert in Brooklyn; a tribute to bassist Jaco Pastorius; and performances by four different ensembles led by Don Byron.