The spring jazz festival was first held in Penza in 2011 - and became the highlight of the musical life of not only the city of Penza, but also the entire Volga region. He immediately acquired an international character - the guests from abroad in the first year of the festival were jazzmen from Italy and Poland.

Next year, 2012, the festival went beyond the framework of concert programs. The square in front of the Penza Regional Philharmonic was covered with a live lawn on which it was comfortable to sit or lie down listening to music. A music art market began to work around the festival site, and the traditional festival “City of Masters” also appeared. The project turned out so promising and unusual that it was nominated for the first national award in the field of event tourism “Russian Event Awards 2012”. The prize was awarded to the festival in the nomination "The Best Project in the Field of Culture".

Since then, the structure of the Penza festival is complicated, and its ideological content continues to be enriched. A special feature of recent years has become an open organizing committee of the festival. Groups in social networks have become centers of creative initiative, in which each participant can discuss their own project, share their ideas or offer specific assistance in preparing for the event. The idea bank is complemented by fundraising - collective fundraising for their implementation. So, in 2014, a campaign to raise funds for the organization of the festival space was successfully held on the basis of the portal Boomstarter.ru.

The format of the festival has also changed - concert performances are complemented by jam sessions, exhibitions of jazz photographers, film screenings, and art installations on the streets of the city.

In April 2013, for the first time, “Jazz May Penza” was provided as part of the largest international jazz music forum jazzahead in Bremen (Germany). Then the acquaintance took place in the format of an absentee presentation. In 2016, the Russian stand of the Russian Jazz Scene worked as part of the forum, organized by the eponymous public initiative. In addition to the Penza festival, it includes the well-known Moscow Jazz Club "Essay", the largest Russian periodical on jazz "Jazz.Ru" and the eponymous portal, as well as the jazz agency "Magnetophone Music".

The history of the festival includes the names of the musicians who make up the elite of the Russian and foreign music scene. Among them are Richie Cole, Craig Handy, Rosario Giuliani, Emanuele Chizi, Dominic Bukowski, Anatoly Kroll, Daniel Kramer, Igor Butman, Anna Buturlina, Mariam Merabova, Yuliana Rogacheva and many other stars of world jazz.

Sights: Buildings of the new cinema and concert hall “Penza” and the regional philharmonic society, the building of the Penza regional drama theater, the Art Gallery named after them. K.A. Savitsky, Governor's House, House-Museum of. V.E. Meyerhold and others.

Accommodation: 1. Hostel “Life”, st. Volodarsky, 23/12 2. Hotel “Old Town”, st. Moscow, 8 3. hotel “Penza” 4. hotel Helioprk Residense