A Century of Humanity: Jazz in LA at Central Library

Most jazz histories treat Los Angeles as a side trip between New Orleans and New York. On Thursday, November 12, the Library Foundation of Los Angeles tells the local version. A Century of Humanity: Jazz in Los Angeles is an ALOUD program in the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Central Library downtown, and it's free with a reservation. If you keep a running list of things to do in Los Angeles on a weeknight, a free hour of live jazz in a library auditorium belongs on it.

Who's behind it

Bassist Stanley Clarke curated the evening with Natasha Agrama. Clarke holds an NEA Jazz Masters fellowship, the nation's highest honor in jazz, so the program has a serious ear behind it. The live sets come from Julius Rodriguez, MARLONIUS and Emilio Modeste. KJazz 88.1, the jazz station broadcasting from Cal State Long Beach, is co-presenting.

ALOUD is the Library Foundation's public program series. Most of its calendar is author talks and conversations, which tells you something about the pacing here. The words carry as much weight as the music.

What the night covers

The organizers pitch it as a look back at a hundred years of jazz and at the traffic running both ways: how the music reached Los Angeles, and what the city added to it. They plan to get there through composition, poetry, live performance and storytelling, so expect spoken pieces between tunes rather than a straight concert. Eventbrite files it under literary arts and lists it at one hour, 7 to 8 PM.

Don't come expecting a slideshow lecture on Central Avenue. The framing is looser than that. The team describes jazz as a mirror of human experience, and the title leans on that idea.

Reservations and standby

Free programs at the library get overbooked on purpose. A reservation doesn't guarantee a seat if the room fills, and unclaimed reservations are released to the standby line when the program starts. Get there early.

No reservation? You can still try standby. Numbers go out one hour before the program, first come, first served. Admission depends on how many seats open up. The foundation also streams its programs on its YouTube channel if you can't make it downtown.

When: Thursday, November 12, 2026, 7 to 8 PM Where: Mark Taper Auditorium - Central Library, 630 W 5th St, Los Angeles, CA 90071 Price: Free with RSVP on Eventbrite Standby: Numbers handed out one hour before start

Getting there

The foundation recommends public transit. The 7th Street/Metro Center station is a short walk south of the library, and Pershing Square station is a few blocks east.

Driving works too. The Westlawn Garage at 524 S. Flower Street is the library's parking option. Show a library card at the Central Library's first-floor Information Desk before the program and you'll pay $1 if you leave before 9 PM. Exit after 9 PM and it's $10. Since the program wraps at 8, you have an hour of slack.

A free evening of jazz history with live players in the room is one of the better Things Happening In Los Angeles this November. Find more downtown LA events or browse all arts and culture listings.