The Nearness of You Concert returns for its fifth edition on Monday, February 9, 2026 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in New York City at 7:30 pm. The all-star benefit event honors the memory of 15-time GRAMMY Award-winning saxophonist Michael Brecker while supporting cancer research at Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Hosted by Susie Essman, the concert features performances by James Taylor, Chris Botti, Lisa Fischer, inaugural poet Richard Blanco and special guests, with a post-concert celebration following at 9:00 pm. Previous events have raised more than $5 million and featured Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Chaka Khan, Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Branford Marsalis and Christopher Cross.
Concert proceeds support the pioneering work of Azra Raza, MD and Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil at HICCC. “Join us for an inspiring evening where music and medicine unite to advance the future of cancer research, bringing new treatments and hope to countless patients around the world. Together, we can help drive the science that saves lives,” said Mukherjee, 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winner and Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Raza, Clinical Director of the Edward P. Evans Center for Myelodysplastic Syndromes, added: “Our goal is audacious but simple: never let cancer start. Find the first cell, and you save a life.” Co-producer Susan Brecker, Michael Brecker’s widow, said: “I am humbled and fortunate to be able to honor Michael with this concert. It presents an opportunity for all of us to support the vital research to end cancer in our lifetimes.”