The Monterey Jazz Festival, the longest continuously-running jazz festival in the world, has presented nearly every major jazz star—from Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong to Esperanza Spalding and Trombone Shorty—since it was founded in 1958. World-renowned for its artistic excellence, sophisticated informality, and longstanding mission to create and support year-round jazz education and performance programs in local, regional, national, and international venues, the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration continues this commitment in 2013 with its third North American Tour. Featuring leading critically-acclaimed, Grammy-winning jazz artists, the All-Star band consists of bassist and musical director Christian McBride, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, saxophonist Chris Potter, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, pianist Benny Green, and drummer Lewis Nash. Embracing the past, present, and future of jazz, the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration will perform an assortment of classic jazz repertoire and original compositions by band members.