Daniel Atkinson, who built La Jolla's Athenaeum Jazz series over 30 years, is steering a four-day jazz festival across San Diego, Escondido and Tijuana starting Thursday, Oct. 1.
The third annual San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival features Mingus Dynasty, Danilo Pérez and Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band. Atkinson launched the Athenaeum series at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in 1996, and that three-decade run of programming seeded what has become a binational event drawing thousands.
Atkinson, executive director of San Diego Jazz Ventures, told Times of San Diego, which first reported the interview, that he had long dreamed of building a festival. "I always had it in the back of my mind that I'd love to do a festival," he said.
The idea took shape during the pandemic, when Atkinson said he began planning an event with "a binational scope built into its mission." The festival debuted in 2024 as part of the World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana initiative and ran three days in both 2024 and 2025. More than 4,500 people attended last year's edition, according to the festival's website.
This year adds a fourth day on the streets of Tijuana.
The schedule spans two countries. Thursday, Oct. 1, opens with a party at Quartyard in San Diego's East Village, free with an online RSVP at sdtjjazz.org. Friday, Oct. 2, moves to Avenida Revolución in Tijuana, free and open to the public. Saturday, Oct. 3, features an all-day program at California Center for the Arts in Escondido, with free outdoor performances and a ticketed indoor show ($45–$90). Sunday, Oct. 4, returns to Avenida Revolución for a free closing day.
Mingus Dynasty, the legacy band founded by Charles Mingus's widow, will perform on Avenida Revolución on Sunday. Atkinson first brought the group to Tijuana in 2018 to play music from Mingus's 1962 album "Tijuana Moods." He said the band will perform on a block he believes Mingus walked in the 1950s.
That 2018 concert also connected Atkinson with Julián Plascencia, general manager of Caesar's restaurant in Tijuana and now his festival partner.
Pérez, director of the Global Jazz Institute at Berklee College of Music and cultural ambassador of Panama, will perform with the SDSU Jazz Ensembles in Escondido on Saturday and with La Covacha Big Band from Ensenada in Tijuana on Sunday.
Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band, a New Orleans group that has played together for 29 years, rounds out the headliners. Atkinson said he previously presented Blade at the Athenaeum and ranked that concert among the top three of his 37 years programming jazz at the library.
The festival has received support from San Diego County supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Jim Desmond, and Atkinson credited La Jolla philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs as major private donors. The Mexican consulate in San Diego is helping facilitate cross-border transit for attendees.
Upcoming community events
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library's fall jazz series, also marking 30 years at Scripps Research Auditorium, continues with the Joshua Redman Quartet on Tuesday, Nov. 3, David Sánchez on Sunday, Nov. 15, and Gabrielle Cavassa on Thursday, Dec. 3.
