In a place as culturally and musically rich as Seattle, it’s hard to believe that so many people are still unfamiliar with the Earshot Jazz Festival. Now in its fifteenth year, Earshot has grown from a loose nonprofit organization in a Fremont office to a successful, though slightly under-appreciated, organization that puts on one of the highlights of the Seattle music community every autumn.

When the festival first began, it featured mostly local groups and artists, but its success has in years since attracted headliner musicians from all over the globe. Now, the month-long festival combines the talents of the world’s most innovative jazz groups and a great number of acclaimed musicians who make the Seattle jazz scene what it is. This year is no exception, as Earshot has brought together an amazing lineup of musicians who will play at several venues in the Seattle Area over the next several weeks.

Although support for the festival has swelled in the past several years, it is still nowhere near as popular as an event of this caliber should be, and is essential listening for people who wish to consider themselves jazz appreciators. Do yourself a favor, and check out the Earshot Jazz Festival. Below are just a few highlights of what is yet to come in this year’s festival.

Joshua Redman’s Elastic Band

The Elastic Band is difficult to describe. It only consists of three musicians, Redman included, but the harmonies are so tight and the orchestrations so well-defined that it sounds like a much larger group. This group, Redman’s newest experiment, is a truly innovative concept that breaks apart many existing boundaries of the accepted concepts of jazz.

Garfield and Roosevelt Jazz Ensembles, feat. Joshua Redman

Critically acclaimed Garfield and Roosevelt big bands will return to the Earshot Festival, this time featuring Joshua Redman as a guest soloist. Expect to hear what early reviews have deemed to be “Garfield’s strongest, most intense repertoire in years.”

Slide Hampton and the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra

Co-directed by Garfield’s Clarence Acox and UW music director Michael Brockman, Seattle’s premier big band will kick off their season with a concert at Benaroya Hall featuring soloist Slide Hampton. Hampton, jazz’s elder statesman of the trombone, joins a long list of world-class soloists to perform with SRJO in the past several years, and will perform in what promises to be an exciting show.

The David Murray Latin Octet

David Murray, a wayfarer of genres and a brash saxophonist, brings the recent success of his Latin group to the Moore Theater for the final performance of this year’s Earshot Jazz Festival. This group, which combines modern American jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms, features several giants of the Cuban music scene and is a melding of talent the likes of which has yet to be seen in the American mainstream. Buy tickets early, as this explosive show of rhythm and sound should sell out quickly.