Sometimes during the holiday season, there can be downtime, where locals and visitors are looking for something different to do. At the Century Room, musicians can join in and listeners can experience classic and modern jazz music. 

‘Twas the Jam Before Christmas will be held at the Century Room Wednesday, Dec. 24. This year, it will have two seatings.  

There is a cover charge for listeners, but musicians can sit in for free. 

“That is sponsored by a nonprofit organization that I’m the president of, the Sonora Arts and Music Initiative…. One of the Sonora Arts and Music Initiative’s projects is the jam session. We basically help underwrite the cost of the jam and ensure that musicians always get in free,” said Arthur Vint, the artistic director, founder and general manager of the Century Room. 

The Century Room has been open since 2022. They have over 500 shows a year at the venue. 

The first Christmas Eve jam in 2023 was held on a Sunday, the regular night for weekly jam sessions. 

These weekly jams are led by multi-instrumentalist Max Goldschmid. 

“Max is the ideal jam session host because he plays virtually every instrument. He plays all the saxophones. He plays trumpet. He plays trombone. He plays upright bass. He plays piano. He plays some guitar. He also plays French horn…You never know who’s going to show up at a jam session. Sometimes, you’ll get 10 drummers and no bass players coming to a jam session. When that happens, Max will give the bassist a break by playing bass for a couple songs. If no piano players show up, Max will jump on piano. As soon as a piano player does show up, Max can then transition to playing saxophone or trumpet. So, there’s always a full band on stage,” Vint said. 

Vint said last year’s Christmas Eve jam session was so popular that they decided to expand it this year. 

“It completely sold out, and we were having to turn people away at the door. This year, we’re getting out ahead of that, and we’re going to do two separate seatings, which is what we traditionally do for our Friday and Saturday night concerts,” Vint said. 

The night will start off with a set by the house band.  

After that, musicians can participate in an instrumental jam. 

Vint said the jam has become a popular holiday tradition for visiting musicians and listeners. 

“We figured out that with so many people coming back into town for the Christmas holiday, specifically musicians, it’s nice to give them an opportunity to go out and either hear some music the night before Christmas, or if they’re a musician, to come sit down in at a jam session… If you have out-of-town guests, you want to take them out to do something exciting and unique. The Century Room certainly is that,” Vint said. 

The event is often a reunion for musicians who are visiting their families for the holidays. 

“We have a lot of young musicians who came up through the Tucson Jazz Institute, who have now moved away to go to school in either New York or Los Angeles. They always come home for Christmas, so they get to come sit in and see all their old friends at the jam session,” Vint said. 

When musicians sign up for the jam session, they list the instrument they play and songs they know well and want to play. 

“We give that list to our host, Max Goldschmid. Max will take a look at that list, see what people want to play and then invite people up to the stage to come sit in with a house band. That’s how they figure out what to play,” Vint said. 

At the weekly jams, they tend to get musicians who play standard jazz instruments such as the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, guitar and piano, along with vocalists. 

Sometimes, musicians will bring other instruments, such as the violin, clarinet and conga drums. They have also had tap dancers participate in jams. 

Vint said many local musicians come to the jam sessions regularly. 

“There’s a lot of students from the University of Arizona who come. Occasionally, we’ll get high school students coming to sit in as well…The house band is made up of professionals, and we have students who get an opportunity to come sit in with them. It’s a great learning experience for students. There are older people who are picking up their instrument after not playing it for 40 years, who are trying to get back into playing. They come to the jams as well… It’s really for people of all ages and all skill levels to come play, improve and experiment,” Vint said. 

Vint has worked with Postmodern Jukebox, Zephaniah OHora and Gadadu, toured different parts of the world and worked as a studio musician when living in New York. He grew up in Tucson, where he started playing music. 

“Personally, I will say going to jam sessions when I was in high school was how I learned how to play jazz. I was a young drummer, and I used to go to jam sessions at the French Quarter and Old Pueblo Grille….You sit and listen to all the other musicians play….Then finally, you get your chance to come sit in. I still remember how nervous I would be going up there, as a 16, 17-year-old, even younger at 15… Many of the people I met at those jam sessions are still friends and colleagues of mine over 20 years later. So, jam sessions are very much community-building events,” Vint said. 

Vint said although the upcoming jam takes place right before Christmas, it won’t be filled with holiday music. The musicians will play jazz standards, as they do at other jams. Vint said sometimes, they will throw a holiday song or two into the mix. 

The music can vary from one jam session to another, but many of the same songs come up regularly. 

“There are certain songs that get played a lot of jam sessions. ‘There Will Never Be Another You,’ ‘Autumn Leaves,’ ‘All the Things You Are.’ ‘I Got Rhythm,’ gets played a lot. Some like ‘All of Me.’ What is commonly referred to as ‘The Great American Songbook,’ a lot of jazz standards come from this era of the 1930s, ‘40s and ’50s. There were great Broadway shows that have great music associated with them, which jazz musicians took as basis for improvisation. There are some more modern standards, songs from Herbie Hancock like ‘Maiden Voyage.’ Occasionally, someone might call a Charlie Parker song or Miles Davis song,” Vint said. 

Along with the Christmas Eve jam, the Century Room will also have a number of other events around the holidays. 

On Monday, Dec. 22, the Century Room Jazz Orchestra will play Duke Ellington’s and Billy Strayhorn’s arrangement of “The Nutcracker Suite,” along with other Ellington tunes. 

Audiences will have a chance to experience flamenco music and dance Tuesday, Dec. 23, during a performance from TUCSONIQUETE. This group is made up of movement artist Angelina Ramirez, guitarist Misael Barraza and cajon player Jason Martinez. 

Trumpet player and vocalist Benny Benack III will be doing a four-night residency at the Century Room Friday, Dec. 26, to Monday, Dec. 29. 

The artist, who is known for his work with the Grammy-award-winning 8-Bit Big Band and Postmodern Jukebox, will perform on Friday and Saturday night with his quintet, will be the featured guest during the jam session on Sunday and will front the 17-piece Century Jazz Orchestra on Monday. 

On Tuesday, Dec. 30, as part of a “New Year’s Eve Eve” performance, Tucson vocalist Katherine Byrnes will sing with Ryan Alfred, Thoger Lund, Angelo Versace and Casey Hadland. Attendees will have the chance to celebrate New Year’s early with a champagne toast. 

Sarah Tolar will perform with an all-star band featuring Brice Winston, Matt Mitchell, Versace, Scott Black and Vint during a New Year’s Eve celebration themed around “Songs of the Silver Screen.” They will play Academy-Award-winning songs from Hollywood’s Golden Age, from the 1930s to the 1960s.   

The CJO Plays Ellington’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’
WHEN:  6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22
WHERE: Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $25-$35
INFO: hotelcongress.com/venues/centuryroom

AR Flamenco Presents: ZAMBOMBA Tablao Flamenco y Villancicos with Tucsoniquete & Friends
WHEN:  6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23
WHERE: Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $25-$35
INFO: hotelcongress.com/venues/centuryroom

‘Twas the Jam Before Christmas
WHEN:  6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 24 


WHERE: Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $10-$15
INFO: hotelcongress.com/venues/centuryroom

Benny Benack III: Third Time’s the Charm
WHEN:  6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 26 to Saturday, Dec. 27
COST: $25-$35 

Jazz Jam with Benny Benack III
WHEN:  6:30-9:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28
COST: $10-$15

The Century Jazz Orchestra feat. Benny Benack III
WHEN:  6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29
COST: $25-$35
INFO: hotelcongress.com/venues/centuryroom

New Year’s Eve Eve with Katherine Byrnes
WHEN:  6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30
WHERE: Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $25-$35
INFO: hotelcongress.com/venues/centuryroom

Songs from                 the Silver Screen
WHEN:  Doors open 6 p.m. and show at 6:30 p.m., doors open 8 p.m. and show at 8:30 p.m., doors open 10 a.m. and show at 11 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31 
WHERE: Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $45-$75 
INFO: hotelcongress.com/venues/centuryroom