Descendanze: In Full Effect!
2026-09-12 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-13 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, 736 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States
CULTURAL COLLABORATIONS AT THE CLEF (CCC)
Where Cultures Meet. The Muse Awakens. Imagination Takes the Stage.
Cultural Collaborations at the Clef—CCC— brings artists, cultural organizations, and communities together through music, storytelling, dance, theater, and shared creative experiences. Each collaboration is designed to inspire the muse, ignite the imagination, celebrate cultural connections, and deepen understanding across communities.
On September 12 and 13, the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts joins We Are the Seeds and the City of Philadelphia to host Descendanze: In Full Effect!
DESCENDANZE: IN FULL EFFECT!
Descendanze: In Full Effect! is a multicultural dance extravaganza including African and Native American dancers. The show’s content is diverse, expressive, interactive, entertaining, fun, family-friendly, and culturally educational for all ages. The dance pieces express cultural awareness and identity, inviting audiences of all backgrounds to connect with and learn from these traditions. The choreography is both traditional and contemporary, designed to foster cross-cultural connections.
Saturday, September 12, 2026 | 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 13, 2026 | 5:00 PM
The new piece, entitled “The Butterfly Effect,” is a beautiful collaboration among the main choreographers: Vaughnda Hilton, Leonna Elliott, and Renelle Smith-Hopkins. This piece is an expression of power, culture, unity, strength, and the will to endure.
Sponsored by We Are the Seeds as part of Philadelphia250, with support from the City of Philadelphia.
Featuring
Native Nations Dance Theater & AfroDanze
Dance • Music • Theater • Interactive Experience • Interdisciplinary Arts
Featuring Native Nations Dance Theater and AfroDanze, this vibrant cultural collaboration brings Indigenous and African diasporic artistic traditions together in an energetic exchange of movement, music, heritage, and contemporary expression.
Presented in collaboration by:
We Are the Seeds
The City of Philadelphia
Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts
Inspiring the Muse. Igniting the Imagination.

With Love From Ella
2026-09-17 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-18 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-20 19:00 - 21:00
CULTURAL COLLABORATIONS AT THE CLEF (CCC)
Where Cultures Meet. The Muse Awakens. Imagination Takes the Stage.
Cultural Collaborations at the Clef—CCC— brings artists, cultural organizations, and communities together through music, storytelling, dance, theater, and shared creative experiences. Each collaboration is designed to inspire the muse, ignite the imagination, celebrate cultural connections, and deepen understanding across communities.
With Love From Ella is a powerful one-woman theatrical experience that celebrates the extraordinary life of the legendary Ella Fitzgerald. Through music, storytelling, and heartfelt performance, the production follows Ella’s remarkable journey from hardship and uncertainty to becoming one of the most beloved voices in history.
Audiences will witness the trials she endured, the resilience that carried her through life’s greatest challenges, and the triumphs that came from refusing to give up on her dreams. But this is more than the story of fame—it is a story of purpose, perseverance, self-discovery, and the unexpected gifts found along the way.
Filled with heart, humor, and timeless music, With Love From Ella invites audiences to experience the woman behind the legend and be inspired to embrace their own journey with courage, hope, and love.

Chasing Trane Screening - Free Matinee
2026-09-23 12:00 - 13:30
watch trailer
Get Free Matinee Tickets

Soundscapes for Tomorrow and PCC Diamond Year Anniversary & Awards Ceremony feat. Tia Fuller in Concert
2026-09-26 18:00 - 21:00
Soundscapes for Tomorrow: Stage One Residencies (Get Tickets)
A Signature Program of the Clef’s 60th Anniversary Celebration
Major support for Soundscapes for Tomorrow has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
As the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts marks 60 years of cultural leadership, Soundscapes for Tomorrow: Stage One Residencies stands at the center of this historic milestone—honoring legacy, amplifying today’s voices, and investing boldly in the future of jazz.
This two-year creative residency initiative reflects the Clef’s enduring role as a national steward of jazz culture. Through five immersive artist residencies led by nationally and internationally acclaimed jazz artists, Soundscapes for Tomorrowinvites audiences into the creative process itself—where heritage, innovation, and community converge.
Residencies encompass the creation of new works, rehearsals, artist conversations, master classes, and public workshops—offering rare access to the ideas, influences, and collaborations that shape contemporary jazz.
The Clef Club 60th Anniversary Awards Celebration
The Clef Club’s 60th Anniversary Awards Celebration will be hosted by Senator Vincent Hughes and will feature a distinguished awards program recognizing the individuals whose leadership and artistry have shaped—and continue to shape—the Clef’s enduring impact.
Honors and Recognitions
Founders’ Legacy Award (Posthumous)
Honoring James “Jimmy” Adams, visionary founder of the Clef Club
Presented by Dr. Diane Turner,
Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University
Visionary Leadership Award
Honoring Dr. Bernard Watson, whose leadership and foresight were instrumental in the creation and construction of the Clef Club’s purpose-built facility in 1995
Presented by Dr. Ken Scott,
President, The Beech Companies
Soundscapes for Tomorrow Artistic Excellence Awards
Presented by Valerie Gay,
Chief Cultural Officer, City of Philadelphia
Honoring the 2026 Soundscapes for Tomorrow Resident Artists:

Tia Fuller
Papo Vázquez
Nabaté Isles
Derrick Hodge
Miguel Zenón

Selected through the Clef Club’s National Artist Advisory Committee, these artists represent a powerful spectrum of jazz expression—bridging tradition and experimentation, cultural memory and contemporary voice. Residency themes explore the reimagining of jazz through Puerto Rican Indigenous music, the evolution of new genres through cultural fusion, and the role of intergenerational exchange as a catalyst for artistic innovation.
A Defining Artistic Moment
The evening will include food and community gathering, culminating in a landmark artistic event:
Tia Fuller will present the world premiere of her commissioned Soundscapes for Tomorrow work titled “Intersections”—a moment that both celebrates creative culmination and signals the Clef’s next chapter of artistic leadership.
Intersections’ explores the point of abundance where genres, generations, and empowerment converge. This innovative work celebrates Fuller’s cross-pollination of musical traditions, stepping beyond the traditional boundaries of jazz to incorporate R&B, classical, funk, and hip-hop influences. It will also serve as a vehicle to explore the Nation of Ndugu and Nzinga’s Five Basic Principles: Wisdom, Humility, Forgiveness, Nurturing, and Spirituality. Intersections reflects Fuller’s extensive experience as both performer and educator—balancing careers in jazz, R&B, and pop (including touring with Beyoncé), and her ongoing commitment to empowering the next generation as a full-time Professor and the Artistic Director of the Ensemble Department at the Berklee College of Music. All in all, it provides a strong foundation rooted in excellence of character and core values.
Program Impact & Access
All residencies culminate in world-premiere performances at the Clef Club, supported by livestreaming and professional video documentation to extend access to national and international audiences. To ensure broad participation, the Clef Club will provide complimentary tickets through local nonprofit partners, reinforcing its commitment to accessibility and community engagement.
Resident artists are supported through honoraria, travel and lodging, rehearsal space, access to multitrack recording studios, professional audio and video production, and the Clef Club’s historic jazz archive. A hybrid residency model—combining in-person and remote engagement—accommodates the demanding schedules of leading artists while stewarding resources responsibly.

A Legacy Forward
Together, Soundscapes for Tomorrow and the Clef’s 60th Anniversary Celebration reaffirm the organization’s mission to celebrate, preserve, and advance jazz through education, performance, and cultural engagement—positioning the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts as a national hub for artistic excellence, innovation, and inclusion.

Trane's House - Farid Barron Commemorating the 100th Birthday of John Coltrane
2026-10-10 19:30 - 21:00

Soundscapes for Tomorrow feat. Papo Vázquez World Premiere
2026-10-17 19:30 - 21:00
Get Tickets
The Legacy of Jazz and Puerto Rican Indigenous Music Reimagined
Papo Vázquez’s The Badlands Suite is a four-part musical autobiography tracing his life, influences, and evolution as an artist. Drawing from jazz, Puerto Rican Indigenous music, and the traditions of his childhood, Vázquez transforms these influences into a distinctive musical language shaped by his personal experiences.
The first movement reflects the holiday music performed by his father, connecting Vázquez to family, Puerto Rican traditions, and childhood memories. The second captures his teenage introduction to jazz—a defining moment that opened new possibilities and shaped his development as a musician, composer, and arranger.
The third movement explores his years in New York City after moving from Philadelphia, highlighting the musicians, communities, and experiences that expanded his creative vocabulary. The fourth represents Vázquez’s evolution as a pioneer of Bomba Jazz, from 1983 through 2026, bringing jazz together with the rhythms and cultural traditions of Puerto Rican Bomba.
The Badlands Suite revisits the people, places, sounds, and experiences that shaped Vázquez’s journey. It is both a personal musical autobiography and a bold reimagining of cultural traditions, demonstrating how jazz and Puerto Rican music can intersect, evolve, and create something entirely new.
