International Jazz Day Celebration feat. Godwin Louis / Jonathan Suazo

Come celebrate International Jazz Day with us on April 30, 2026, from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at Union Church in Boston!
This free, family-friendly event will feature performances by Grammy-nominated saxophonist Godwin Louis and Puerto Rican saxophonist Jonathan Suazo. We’ll also celebrate Boston’s jazz legacy with presentations at Jazz Square, located at Mass. Ave. and Columbus Ave.
Admission is free! For those who are able, we kindly suggest a $20 donation to support the artists, keep the music going, and help sustain future Jazz Square events. Every contribution makes a difference!

This vibrant celebration is part of the Jazz Square Coalition’s ongoing work to honor Boston’s cultural history through music, art, and community programming, with support from the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and in partnership with the Claremont Neighborhood Association and The Reckonings Project.

Grammy Award–nominated saxophonist, composer, and global cultural ambassador Godwin Louis is a visionary artist whose work bridges continents, traditions, and communities. Born in Harlem and raised between Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Louis draws from a rich multicultural heritage that informs his deeply expressive and globally resonant sound.
An acclaimed alto saxophonist, Louis has performed on stages across more than 100 countries, bringing his music to audiences throughout Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. His international career reflects a lifelong commitment to cultural exchange and the universal language of jazz.
A graduate of Berklee College of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, Louis has collaborated with legends including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, and Prince. As a composer and arranger, he earned a Grammy nomination for his work on Cécile McLorin Salvant’s album Mélusine, and has received honors including the Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Grant and a Jazz Gallery Residency Commission.
Louis’s music seamlessly blends jazz with gospel, classical, and Afro-Caribbean traditions. In addition to his performance career, he is a dedicated educator and humanitarian, serving on the faculty at Berklee and founding Experience Ayiti, a nonprofit arts organization in Haiti. His debut album Global (2019) established him as a bold new voice in contemporary jazz, while Psalms and Proverbs (2024) further explores the spiritual and cultural intersections of music across the African diaspora.

An Award-winning Puerto Rican saxophonist, composer, and educator, Jonathan Suazo brings a deeply personal, cross-cultural perspective to jazz, blending Afro-Caribbean rhythms with modern improvisation. Grounded in heritage and driven by emotional storytelling, Suazo channels the rhythms, histories, and lived experiences of the Caribbean into his music.

In 2023, he was named one of the GRAMMYs’ Top Ten Emerging Jazz Artists, and his debut album Ricano (Ropeadope Records) was recognized by The New York Times as one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2023. His forthcoming release, Ricano Vol. 2: Fruto de Mi Corazón (May 8, 2026, Miel Music), explores themes of family, faith, and personal transformation while blending plena, bomba, salve, and other Caribbean rhythms with modern jazz improvisation.

A graduate of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute (Master of Music), Suazo has received numerous honors for artistic excellence and community impact, including the 2024 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant, the WBUR Makers Series Award, and the South Arts Jazz Road Tours Grant. He has also contributed to the field as a grant reviewer for organizations such as New Music USA and Mid Atlantic Arts, shaping opportunities for emerging artists.

Suazo has performed and collaborated with Miguel Zenón, Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo Pérez, Joe Lovano, Paoli Mejías, Zaccai Curtis, and many others, reflecting his deep connection to both the jazz and Latin music worlds. Critics have praised his work for its emotional depth and musical sophistication, describing it as “richly built, written from the heart and packed with complexity” (Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times) and “a soundscape propelled by lyrical sax playing” (Catalina Maria Johnson, DownBeat Magazine).

Join us in celebrating the music, history, and spirit of world jazz in the heart of Boston's Jazz Square! For more information, visit.

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