The Litchfield Jazz Festival began in 1996 at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield Hills in Connecticut. The parent organization that runs the festival is Litchfield Performing Arts, Inc, a not-for-profit founded in 1981. After two years at the White Memorial Conservation Center the festival moved to the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, Connecticut, where it was held until 2008. The festival moved to the grounds of Kent School in Kent, Connecticut in 2009, and was held there until 2011. In 2012 the festival returned to the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, CT.