45th Tri-C JazzFest to fill downtown Cleveland with music from icons, legends and international artists
The 45th Tri-C JazzFest, taking placeJune 20-22, at Playhouse Sqaure, brings celebrated and respected artists from around the country and the globe to Cleveland for an eclectic mixture of musical styles and sounds. The Tri-C JazzFest, a regional institution with a national reputation for excellence, is set to celebrate its 45th year with music from icons, legends and international artists. The current format allows area music fans to enjoy jazz and other genres in one weekend, taking place June 20-22 at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Festival director Terri Pontremoli believes the current format is easier for everyone to book than the previous 10-day format. The festival has expanded its scope to include new, legendary artists, several genres, and several groups that don't adhere to any genre. This year's performers include Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Dianne Reeves and Samara Joy.
Publicado : Hace 10 meses por mabram, Malcolm Abram | [email protected], Malcolm Abram en Entertainment
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Tri-C JazzFest is a regional institution with a national reputation for excellence. For 45 years, Cuyahoga Community College’s jazz festival has brought jazz and music icons, legends, future legends, local luminaries and fans to theaters and stages around in Cleveland. The list of the iconic and innovative musicians who have performed in Cleveland for JazzFest include legendary singers Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Dianne Reeves and 2023 Best New Artist Grammy winner Samara Joy. There have been many legendary and influential instrumentalists and bands, too -- Sun Ra, Buddy Guy to David Sanborn, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, George Benson, Tower of Power, even hip genre-melding pianist Robert Glasper.
Back in the proverbial “day,” the festival was spread out across 10 days of concerts and activities. And, though those festivals had plenty of live music. Around 2015, the festival pivoted to the current format, which allows area music fans to satiate their jazz and other genres jones in one action-packed music-filled weekend, this year taking place June 20-22 indoors and outdoors at Playhouse Square in Cleveland.
Festival director Terri Pontremoli believes the current format is easier for everyone.
“I’m so glad that we do it this way because it is much more of an event for jazz lovers who live in the region to just take a weekend and drive to Cleveland and take advantage of the things that we have in Cleveland and see a really pretty terrific festival at the same time,” Pontremoli said.
While the three-day format may be better for all, the compressed time frame and limited indoor stages does require a particular set of planning skills when it comes to artist availability and where to put them in Playhouse Square’s collection of theaters, where all the indoor concerts take place. The planning for next year starts soon after the lights dim on the stage of the final show of each JazzFest.
“When I used to run the Detroit Jazz Festival, there were so many stages and so many bands that I got to book. The music went from noon to midnight on four or 5 stages. And it’s really easy to book that,” says Pontremoli, who has also been a consultant for the Montclair Jazz Festivals and the legendary Newport Jazz Festival.
“But when you have only, let’s say, nine concerts, then you really have to curate, and you really have to make sure that there’s enough variety in the experience and that is the beautiful thing,” she says. “I think every year I notice how the audience settles in for that first concert, and then they go to the next concert, and the next concert is totally different and it’s kind of refreshing because you’re getting that great big sample platter, and what’s not to like about that? Right?”
The festival began reaching beyond “jazz” around the turn of the century, showcasing artists such as blues legend Guy and soul legend Al Green and also began adding international flavors such as Indian tabla player and composer Zakir Hussain and last year’s festival opener, Benin-born singer Angelique Kidjo.
“I don’t think of the artist being jarring in any way,” says Pontremol. “I just think it’s like, `OK, now we’re gonna hear some funk and now we’re gonna hear a hell of a great American Songbook vocalist and here we’re gonna hear somebody like (2024 festival closer) Ledisi performing. So I really think it’s a beautiful experience for the audience and it’s always a great experience.”
This year’s festival continues the musical gumbo of new, legendary and international artists, several of whom don’t adhere to any genre. (See full schedule below.)
Festival openers Take 6 (Thursday, June 20) have a 40-year history, beginning as a gospel sextet at Oakwood College in Alabama. Over the years, the group has expanded to incorporate R&B, funk and jazz into their mix of uplifting covers and originals.
This year’s legends include octogenarian saxophonist Charles Lloyd and his Ocean Trio II, featuring pianist Gerald Clayton and guitarist Marvin Sewell (Saturday, June 22). Lloyd, 86 released a critically acclaimed double album, “The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow,” (featuring another 2024 JazzFest performer, pianist Jason Moran) in March.
Bassist-producer-composer Marcus Miller (Connor Palace, Friday, June 21) has a resume that includes writing and producing for Miles Davis and adding his signature bass sound to recordings by an incredible list of artists, including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Wayne Shorter, Joe Walsh, Aretha Franklin and literally hundreds more. Miller is on a double bill with keyboardist Bob James, another legend who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as a sideman and band leader.
“That’s why it’s beautiful to present some of these icons like Bob James, He is an icon. He’s, still at the peak of his powers. He’s still plays wonderfully,” says Pontremolli, adding she quietly hopes that Miller and James will grace the crowd with an impromptu onstage collaboration.
International flavors include Cuban pianist Harold López-Nussa and his band Timba a la Americana and Sao-Paolo native singer-guitarist Diego Figueiredo (Allen Theatre, Saturday, June 22), who Pontremoli calls “the youngsters.”
“Harold López-Nussa, the Cuban pianist. He’s just terrific. He’s a really exciting performer. Diego Figueiredo, is a very special Brazilian guitarist. He makes everything he plays sound beautiful. He just, he literally does take your breath away,” she said.
Artemis, led by pianist-composer Renee Rosnes, is a multigenerational, multinational all-women collective named for the Greek goddess of the hunt. It was formed for International Women’s Day in 2017. The celebrated group, which released its second album, “In Real Time,” in 2023, will share a bill on Saturday, June 22 with a special homegrown tribute, “Flying Home: A Trumpet Summit,” featuring Sean Jones, Dominick Farinacci, Tommy Lehman, and Curtis Taylor. The quartet of trumpet players are gathering to celebrate Tri-C’s Jazz Academy, of which they are all alumni.
“When you hear these women play, they swing so hard, they play so together, they’re all arrangers composers and Renee Rosnes is wonderful. I hate to keep using these superlatives, but they are really terrific,” Pontremoli said of Artemis.
“And then the Flying Home part of that concert which Dominic is putting together with kind of our trumpet history here at the school is beautiful to see, too. To see Sean Jones and Dominic and Tommy Layman and Curtis Taylor all on the same stage is a real testament to what kind of education they got here at Tri-C and then the whole rhythm section is also people that went through our program. It’s great stuff,” she said.
Ensuring that JazzFest fans get a mix of what they may expect and an opportunity to enjoy someone new or different than the traditional jazz trios and quartets is an important aspect of making Tri-C JazzFest a unique experience for music lovers and is part of each year’s mission for Pontremoli and the JazzFest staff.
“We definitely do this by design. And, yes, when you set out to do this, yes, you want an international artist. Do you want an icon? Yes. You want a new newcomer. All of that is really part of creating what I call a satisfying meal,” Pontremoli said.
8 p.m., Thursday, June 20, Mimi Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square. Tickets start at $47.50 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
5 p.m., Friday, June 21, Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square. Tickets start at $42.50 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
6:30 p.m., Friday, June 21, 2024, Mimi Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square 6:30 p.m., Tickets start at $35 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
7:45 p.m. Friday, June 21, Connor Palace at Playhouse Square. Tickets are at $57.50 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
10 p.m., Friday, June 21, Mimi Ohio Theatre. Tickets $45 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 22, Mimi Ohio Theatre. Featuring Renee Rosnes, Ingrid Jensen, Nicole Glover, Noriko Ueda & Allison Miller - Flying Home: A Trumpet SummitTickets start at $42 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
5:15 p.m., Saturday, June 22, Allen Theatre. Tickets start at $42.50 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 22, Mimi Ohio Theatre. Tickets start at $35 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
9 p.m. Saturday, June 22, Connor Palace. Tickets start at $65.50 and are available at playhousesquare.org.
14 acts from across region will perform June 21-22 in JazzFest concerts on an outdoor Playhouse Square stage at Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street. The free outdoor performances will run from 3 p.m.-midnight daily. The full schedule is at tri-c.edu/jazzfest