ARTEMIS
Detroit Jazz Fest 2026
Hart Plaza
Detroit
September 5, 2026
The woman-led supergroup ARTEMIS closed down the waterfront stage on the first full day of the 2026 Detroit Jazz Fest. It’s a remarkable amount of talent in one place.
Each member of this group could easily close it down as the leader of their own band.
When it comes to ARTEMIS, however, there’s strength in numbers.
And there are even bigger personalities behind their respective instruments, each bringing their own bravado to traditionalist jazz with a muscular bebop edge but also seamlessly weaving themselves together for one stunning performance that was hard to top at this year’s festival.
Founded by pianist and composer Renee Rosnes, the group includes trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller, who just a couple years ago did in fact perform with her own band at the festival.
The group was absolutely locked in throughout their 75-minute performance, pulling heavily from their 2025 Blue Note Records release Arboresque. Throughout the performance, Miller absolutely stunned as the driving backbone of the group, throwing muscle behind tracks when needed and properly stepping back when bassist Ueda would perform a solo.
Ueda, by the way, seems to be the hardest-working member of this band judging from her facial expressions and full-throated bass playing. Simply put, she’s never lost on any track that ARTEMIS performs. She’s not there to simply complement or create a rhythm; she’s there to drive the whole damn set.
The theme of Arboresque is obvious from the title. It’s heavy on themes of nature and natural beauty.
During their live set in Detroit, however, the seasons had changed to a more politically charged set.
With the musicians staring down Windsor and two of the ARTEMIS members hailing from Canada (Rosnes and Jensen), they performed “Olive Branch” to patrons that were well-versed in the ongoing tariff war between the United States and Canada.
From there, they performed a piece they were commissioned to write for America’s 250th birthday by Carnegie Hall called “Twilight’s Last Gleaming,” composed by Rosnes. It was a woozy, slightly dark composition that gently interpolated the national anthem into its DNA. Before performing, Rosnes slyly introduced it to the crowd, suggesting that they could “read into the title” whatever they wanted.
There wasn’t much subtly to be found after that as ARTEMIS launched into “What The World Needs Now Is Love,” one of the songs that they covered on their latest album. Rosnes arranged this version and pointed the crowd toward the Dionne Warwick version, who hailed the song as an international anthem to bring people together.
In the hands of less qualified musicians, these proclamations could’ve come across as ham-fisted or cheesy.
With the heart and talent behind ARTEMIS, however, it was just what the festival audience needed.
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