Houston, this is the jazz night to put in ink — not pencil.

On Saturday, October 17, DACAMERA opens its 2026–27 Jazz Series at Cullen Theater inside Wortham Theater Center with saxophone titan and 10-time Grammy nominee Joshua Redman. Houston pride will be seated at the piano: hometown standout Paul Cornish.

Cornish, a Houston native and Kinder HSPVA graduate, returns as part of Redman’s quartet alongside bassist Philip Norris and drummer Nazir Ebo. The group is closely associated with Redman’s Blue Note album Words Fall Short, built around collective improvisation that makes jazz feel less like a recital and more like a high-wire conversation.

Redman has praised Cornish as both an “empath and contrarian” — a musician who can challenge a band while keeping the music natural and connected. Houston knows the pedigree. Cornish emerged from the same celebrated HSPVA jazz lineage that includes Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Kendrick Scott, Chris Dave, Walter Smith III and James Francies. His Blue Note debut, You’re Exaggerating!, arrived in 2025, and the Herbie Hancock Institute records Cornish as the third-place finisher in its 2023 International Jazz Piano Competition.

Redman arrives with fresh momentum of his own. Blue Note announced September 15 that his next album, If Ever You Would Leave Us (we play for Rollins), will be released November 20 as a tribute to saxophone immortal Sonny Rollins. That makes Houston’s October stop a timely chance to catch Redman between major Blue Note chapters.

The evening starts before the first saxophone note. DACAMERA’s Fall Jazz Kickoff Party begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Event Space at Lynn Wyatt Square, 600 Louisiana Street, directly across from Wortham Theater Center. Expect live music, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and jazzy attire before the quartet takes the Cullen Theater stage at 8 p.m.

Party tickets are listed at $50, with $500 event sponsorships available. Concert tickets remain on sale through DACAMERA, with public listings showing prices from $60.50 to $101. DACAMERA’s public ticket page does not display a real-time remaining-seat count — so Houston jazz lovers should not assume the best seats will wait.

 

Houston Style Magazine is proud to serve as a media sponsor for an evening pairing an international jazz heavyweight with one of Houston’s own rising Blue Note stars.

Consider this your H-Town jazz alarm: if October 17 is on your calendar, don’t let your ticket be the thing that falls short.

SHOW LINKS: EVENT DETAILS | BUY CONCERT TICKETS | FALL JAZZ KICKOFF PARTY | JOSHUA REDMAN - BLUE NOTE | PAUL CORNISH - BLUE NOTE