We confess. We confess. Yes, winter is here! One of the ways that we make ourselves feel better about the chilly situation outside is by booking vacations to warm places!

One of the activities we set out to do in 2015 is Jazz Fest in New Orleans. We would love to be down South right about now but unfortunately, that doesn’t happen until the spring. No good for us weather-wise. Jazz-wise, we’re in luck.

The NYC Winter Jazzfest is right around the corner. Silver lining for the weather, we guess? The festival is in its 11th year. If you love going downtown and checking out the jazz joints but didn’t know about THE jazz event, don’t feel bad. We didn’t know until year 8 (or 9?).

Anyway, the event kicked off on January 9th with two major events:

“Blue Note Now!” — At 8 p.m. at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village — is a celebration of the current Blue Note Records roster, with performances by the Robert Glasper Trio, the singer José James, the bassist Derrick Hodge and the drummer Kendrick Scott.

“Jazz Legends for Disability Pride” — at 7 p.m. at the Quaker Friends Meeting Hall, 15 Rutherford Place, near East 15th Street, East Village — is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Disability Pride NYC, featuring more than a dozen artists, including the bassists Ron Carter and Buster Williams; the saxophonists Benny Golson and George Coleman; the pianists Harold Mabern and Brad Mehldau; and the drummer Jimmy Cobb.

Tickets are very reasonably priced and there are a ton of acts to see. The full schedule and more details are available at winterjazzfest.com.

Plan your festival and stay warm! Cocktails will help.

@newyorkeventsco