Ventura Music Festival Presents Pacific Jazz Orchestra: A Tribute to Quincy Jones Featuring Vocalists Nayanna Holley & Adam 'Aejaye' Jackson

Program, Led by Multi-GRAMMY®-Nominated Artistic Director Chris Walden, Spotlights the Late Producer/Composer's Masterful Early Work

 Sunday, October 18, 2026, 3:00 PM, at Camarillo's Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center

VENTURA, Calif., Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventura Music Festival presents Pacific Jazz Orchestra: A Tribute to Quincy Jones, an exploration of Jones' masterful early work from the 1950s and 60s, featuring guest vocalists Nayanna Holley and Adam "Aejaye" Jackson, Sunday, October 18, 2026, 3:00 PM, at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo.

Pacific Jazz Orchestra Artistic Director Chris Walden, a seven-time GRAMMY®-nominee and lead arranger for the Oscars, leads the group's driving 19-piece Big Band Ensemble through his original arrangements of Jones' genre-spanning work onstage and onscreen, transporting the audience to the icon's musical roots.

Highlighting Jones' prolific output, the program features selections from his big band recordings, among them The Quintessence (1962), which exemplify his innovative approach to jazz orchestration. Also featured are some of Jones' masterful arrangements for legendary singers such as Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan, including his collaboration on Vaughan and Violins (1959), in which Jones' orchestration beautifully complements her vocal prowess.

From Jones' contributions to film and television scoring, the Pacific Jazz Orchestra Big Band Ensemble performs themes from The Pawnbroker (1964) and In the Heat of the Night (1967), which illustrate his tremendous versatility and uncanny ability to convey complex emotions through music as well as his significant impact on the soundscape of American cinema.

Jones was a household name for decades, but long before Michael Jackson and "We Are the World," the musician/arranger/producer worked his way up, first from humble beginnings as a jazz trumpeter and then scoring films when he moved to Los Angeles. His lifelong impact is considerable, including a long list of those whom he mentored, among them Walden himself.

Holley, a vocalist and vocal contractor, has been a member of the house band for NBC's The Voice for more than ten seasons and performed for several seasons in the house band of American Idol. Her film credits include The Color Purple, The Eternals, Encanto, Coming 2 America, and Mulan. As a background singer, Holley has toured with P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, St. Vincent, Robbie Williams, Selena Gomez, and Sheryl Crow, among others. As a vocal contractor, Holley assembles and hires singers for film and TV programs such as the Academy Awards, The Voice, American Idol, The Talk, and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Jackson is a seasoned vocalist and songwriter who brings a soulful blend of R&B, soul, and jazz to the stage. The Detroit-born vocalist, actor, and dancer began singing in church at age three. He has toured and recorded with Toni Braxton, John Tess, Billy Griffin, David Foster, Charo, Vesta Williams, Linda Hopkins, Harvey Mason. Josh Groban, Stevie Wonder, Melissa Manchester, Kenneth "BabyFace" Edmunds, Macklemore, Carole Bayer Sager, Patti Austin Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr, to name a few. His other passion is mentoring at-risk youth through such organizations as The Coalition for At Risk and Restoring Youth and In A World With Books. 

Pacific Jazz Orchestra has garnered critical acclaim for thrilling performances that "entertain, inspire, and enrich" (Variety). Major funders for Pacific Jazz Orchestra include GRoW @ Annenberg Foundation; the Alesia Alpert Family Foundation; the Natalie Cole Foundation; the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation; and Anonymous.

Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center is located at 4235 Mar Vista Drive, Camarillo, CA, 93010. For tickets ($15-$109) and information, visit https://www.venturamusicfestival.org or call (805) 648-3146.

For information about Pacific Jazz Orchestra, visit www.pacificjazz.org.

About Pacific Jazz Orchestra
PACIFIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA embraces and reflects the diverse and enthralling soundscape of Los Angeles, where the 40-piece ensemble was born, bred, and resides. The ultimate cross-over sensation, the nimble hybrid jazz big band and string orchestra comprised of powerhouse LA studio musicians deftly navigates musical styles ranging from jazz, Latin, soul, and R&B, to pop, musical theater, symphonic, and cinematic soundtracks.

Founded in 2022 by seven-time GRAMMY^®-nominated composer/arranger/conductor Chris Walden, Pacific Jazz Orchestra has garnered critical acclaim for thrilling performances that "entertain, inspire, and enrich" (Variety). As artistic director and conductor, Walden creates a melting pot of original music and unique arrangements for every show, each with a specific theme, distinctive jazz flair, and lush orchestrations.

The ensemble is also noted for its ambitious collaborations with a wide range of guest artists, among them acclaimed singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright, singer/actress Katharine McPhee, GRAMMY^®-winning vocal group TAKE 6, and Tony Award-winner Aaron Tveit. Other projects have featured eminent violinist Caroline Campbell, celebrated saxophonist Ben Wendel, GRAMMY^®-winning artist Ledisi, R&B/soul singer Adam "AeJaye" Jackson, vocal stylist Sheléa, and veteran blues and funk singer Billy Valentine.

Pacific Jazz Orchestra presents an annual concert series at various Southern California venues and has toured to Japan with its 18-piece big band configuration. It is LA's first resident jazz orchestra since 2006, when the Henry Mancini Institute closed its doors after an acclaimed ten-year run. A 501-(c)(3) non-profit organization, Pacific Jazz Orchestra is sponsored in part by the Herb Alpert Foundation. Its Advisory Board Members include David Foster, Quincy Jones (in memoriam), Monica Mancini, Alan Bergman (in memoriam), Rickey Minor, Harvey Mason Jr., and Ledisi.

About Chris Walden
Seven-time GRAMMY^®-nominated composer/arranger CHRIS WALDEN is the artistic director and conductor of Pacific Jazz Orchestra. Hailed as a "distinguished conductor" (Audio Media International) and "gifted and well-connected arranger-composer" (Santa Barbara Independent) who pens "exquisite string arrangements" (The Arts Desk), Walden "has built an illustrious career working behind the scenes with some of music's biggest names" (grammy.com).

He has scored more than 40 feature and TV films and written more than 1,500 orchestral and big band arrangements for such artists as John Legend, Michael Bublé, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, SEAL, Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Barbra Streisand, and Josh Groban. He has also collaborated as an arranger and bandleader with jazz artists Diana Krall, Herb Alpert, Michael Brecker, Arturo Sandoval, and the Count Basie Orchestra and served as the lead arranger for the Academy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, American Idol, and even the Super Bowl, arranging Jennifer Hudson's National Anthem performance. In addition to working closely with producers David Foster, Tommy LiPuma, and Phil Ramone, Walden's credits include conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Holland's Metropole Orkest, Boston Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and WDR Big Band Cologne, among others.

The German-born musician, who performs on trumpet and flugelhorn as well, composed music for German films and TV before emigrating to Los Angeles at the age of 29. Walden, who lives in Los Angeles, has served as trustee on the national board of the Recording Academy and past president of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC).

About Ventura Music Festival
The Pacific Jazz Orchestra concert is one of five events in the Ventura Music Festival's 2026 Fall Series, running October 11 through 18. The series opens October 11 with Tea and Trumpets, VMF's beloved signature afternoon tea and brass quintet experience, returning by popular demand. On Thursday, October 15, Artistic Director Nuvi Mehta leads Birth of Impressionism, a Classical Edge Concert blending live performance, history, and discovery at Ventura College Performing Arts Center. Friday, October 16 brings TAKE3 -- Where Rock Meets Bach -- to Ventura Music Hall, with a conservatory-trained, rock-star-electrifying violin, cello, and piano trio. On Saturday, October 17, the two most decorated fiddle players in IBMA history -- Michael Cleveland and Jason Carter -- perform at Mission Park in Ventura. The season closes December 15 with the celebrated twelve-voice ensemble Chanticleer in a special holiday concert at Ventura Center for Spiritual Living. Tickets for all VMF-presented Fall Series events are available at venturamusicfestival.org or by calling (805) 648-3146.

EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:

WHAT:
Ventura Music Festival Presents Pacific Jazz Orchestra: A Tribute to Quincy Jones, Featuring Vocalists Nayanna Holley and Adam "Aejaye" Jackson

WHEN:
Sunday, October 18, 2026, 3:00 PM

WHERE:
Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center
4235 Mar Vista Drive
Camarillo, CA, 93010

TICKETS & INFORMATION:
Tickets: $15-$109
https://www.venturamusicfestival.org
(805) 648-3146

Date, time, program, and artists subject to change

SOURCE Ventura Music Festival