Wednesday, December 30

Two separate sets, 6:30-7:45 PM and 8:15-9:30 PM

Location: Athenaeum Music & Arts Library

Members $60/Nonmembers $65

Please join us for this special New Year’s celebration of the music of Mike Wofford. Mike earned the designation as the Athenaeum Jazz series’ all-time Most Valuable Player, having been featured at least 20 times over the years as either a leader or a sideman, beginning with the second-ever Athenaeum Jazz concert in the summer of 1989 and running through his final performance at the library in the summer of 2022.

A longtime San Diego-resident and mainstay of our city’s music scene, Mike’s career spanned seven decades before he passed away in 2025. He recorded and performed with a long list of major artists, including Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz, Joe Pass, Quincy Jones, Benny Carter, Ray Brown, Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Art Pepper, Joe Henderson, Benny Golson, and James Moody, among many others. He was also conductor and pianist for both Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. With this stellar list of creative accomplishments, it is no wonder that DownBeat recognized him as “one of the outstanding pianists of our time.”

Curated in collaboration with Mike’s wife and musical partner, Holly Hofmann, this tribute features some of Mike’s favorite musicians in a series of solo, duo, trio, and quartet performances of Mike's original compositions and his favorite standards. On piano, Bill Mays, Josh Nelson, and Joshua White. On guitar, Larry Koonse. On bass, John Clayton and Rob Thorsen. And on drums, Jeff Hamilton and Duncan Moore.

The concert takes place in the Music Room of the Athenaeum, which houses Mike’s favorite piano, the library’s Hamburg Steinway B. Audience members can choose between two separate sets.