2023 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2023.

February

 * February 5 – At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, winners include Wayne Shorter, Samara Joy, and Arturo O'Farrill. Snarky Puppy wins best contemporary instrumental album for their 2022 album Empire Central, Samara Joy wins best Vocal Jazz album for her 2022 album Linger Awhile. Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Linda May Han Oh, Nicholas Payton & Matthew Stevens win Best Jazz Instrumental Album for their album New Standards Volume 1.

April

 * April 14 – First day of Coachella 2023, a two weekend event, occurs. Jazz musicians in attendance are The Comet is Coming and Domi and JD Beck
 * April 15 – After 8 years, British band GoGo Penguin's contract with Blue Note Records ends, and the band switches to XXIM Records, a record label more typically associated with neoclassical music and progressive electronic music.

May

 * May 17 – The Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards are presented. Charles Lloyd wins Lifetime Achievement in Jazz award. Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington wins Musician of The Year. Singer Samara Joy wins Up & Coming Musician of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. Ashley Kahn wins Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism award.
 * May 31 – The tapes for a long lost, unreleased John Coltrane live album with Eric Dolphy are found at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

June

 * June 7 – The San Francisco Jazz Festival takes place in the United States. Jacob Collier and Samara Joy are in attendance.
 * June 13 – The Grammys announce a new award category: Best Alternative Jazz Album
 * June 21 – The 37th Annual Syracuse Jazz Fest takes place in the United States. Herbie Hancock and Gladys Knight are in attendance
 * June 30 – The 36th annual Saskatchewan Jazz Festival kicked off in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

July

 * July 7 – The 56th Pori Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place in Finland.
 * July 28 – The Blue Note Jazz Festival opens in Napa, California, hosted by Dave Chappelle and headlined by Mary Blige, Chance The Rapper and Nas. Robert Glasper is the artist in residence. Notable attendees include George Clinton, Anderson .Paak, Domi and JD Beck

August

 * August 4 – The Newport Jazz Festival opens in the United States. Notable attendees include Kamasi Washington, Domi and JD Beck, Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, Herbie Hancock, Samara Joy, Lakecia Benjamin and Thundercat
 * August 25 - A 3 episode Amazon Prime biographical documentary miniseries about the life of Wayne Shorter through several decades releases, titled Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity

September

 * September 22 – The 65th Monterey Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place in the United States, with Lakecia Benjamin as the artist in residence. Notable attendees include Herbie Hancock, Snarky Puppy, Samara Joy, and Thundercat

October

 * October 13 – Stockholm Jazz Festival took place in Sweden.

December

 * December 5 - NPR Music ranks Meshell Ndegeocello's The Omnichord Real Book and Yussef Dayes's Black Classical Music among the 50 best albums of 2023.
 * December 7 - The New York Times ranks Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah's Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning as the best jazz album of 2023, followed by Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)) in #2
 * December 13 - Stereogum ranks Matana Roberts' Coin Coin Chapter 5: In The Garden as the best jazz album of 2023, followed by Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)) in #2
 * December 19 - NPR Music ranks Meshell Ndegeocello's The Omnichord Real Book as the best jazz album of 2023
 * December 26 - The Guardian ranks Tyshawn Sorey's Continuing as the best jazz album of 2023
 * December 31 - Ed Cherry's Are We There Yet? ends off the year with the most radio airplay as documented by JazzWeek

January

 * January 10 – Dennis Budimir, 84, American jazz and rock guitarist (The Wrecking Crew)
 * January 17 – Richard Oesterreicher, 90, Austrian jazz guitarist and conductor
 * January 18 – Marcel Zanini, 99, Turkish-born French jazz clarinetist
 * January 23 – Carol Sloane, 85, American jazz singer

February

 * February 2 – Butch Miles, 78, American drummer
 * February 13
 * Guido Basso, 85, Canadian trumpeter.
 * Alain Goraguer, 91, French pianist, arranger and film composer
 * February 17 – Jerry Dodgion, 90, American saxophonist and flautist
 * February 25 – Carl Saunders, 80, American trumpeter, composer and educator

March

 * March 1 – Wally Fawkes, 98, Canadian-British clarinettist and satirical cartoonist
 * March 2 – Wayne Shorter, 89, tenor saxophonist
 * March 3 – Carlos Garnett, 84, Panamanian-born jazz saxophonist
 * March 9 – Robin Lumley, 74, British jazz keyboardist (Brand X)
 * March 13 – Simon Emmerson, 67, English jazz and worldbeat guitarist (Weekend, Working Week, Afro Celt Sound System)
 * March 14 – Gloria Bosman, 50, South African jazz singer
 * March 15 – Théo de Barros, 80, Brazilian jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer (Quarteto Novo)
 * March 16 – Tony Coe, 88, English jazz clarinetist and saxophonist

April

 * April 5 – Duško Gojković, 91, Serbian jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger
 * April 7 – Kidd Jordan, 87, American saxophonist
 * April 9 – Karl Berger, 88, German jazz pianist, composer, and educator
 * April 16 - Ahmad Jamal, 92, American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader

May

 * May 14 – Bernt Rosengren, 85, Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist
 * May 24 – Bill Lee, 94, American bassist

June

 * June 5 – Astrud Gilberto, 83, Brazilian vocalist
 * June 16 – Peter Dickinson, 88, English experimental pianist and composer
 * June 20 – Peter Brötzmann, 82, German free jazz saxophonist
 * June 29 – Lilian Terry, 92, Italian jazz singer and composer.

July

 * July 17 – Barry Martyn, 82, English jazz drummer
 * July 21 – Tony Bennett, 96, American jazz and traditional pop singer
 * July 22 – Knut Riisnæs, 77, Norwegian jazz musician

October

 * October 17 – Carla Bley, 87, American jazz composer and pianist

November

 * November 4 – Michel Pilz, 78, German jazz clarinetist
 * November 8 – Dino Piana, 93, Italian jazz musician
 * November 20 – Mars Williams, 68, American jazz and rock saxophonist (The Psychedelic Furs, The Waitresses)
 * November 21 – Horacio Malvicino, 94, Argentine jazz and tango guitarist and composer

December

 * December 6 – Michel Sardaby, 88, French jazz pianist
 * December 26 – Tony Oxley, 85, English jazz drummer
 * December 29 – Les McCann, 88, American jazz pianist and singer