by Mike Telin
It’s hard to believe, but Tri-C JazzFest will celebrate its 40th anniversary from June 27 through June 29 at Playhouse Square. The 2019 edition offers nine ticketed indoor shows featuring national artists, and seventeen free performances featuring local and regional bands on the outdoor stage. Click here for single tickets and here for festival passes.
“Forty years, isn’t that something,” JazzFest director Terri Pontremoli said during a telephone conversation. “That’s why we decided to look inward at our own jazz history and our own heroes. So Cleveland is going to be well represented and I think that’s a good thing for us.”
The Festival kicks off on Thursday, June 27 at 7:45 pm at the KeyBank State Theatre with the iconic Tower of Power. “We are so excited to have them — they are celebrating their 50th anniversary, and some of them are the original members,” Pontremoli said. “If you want a hoot, get on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts and listen to theirs.” [Read on…]
How did a first-generation Korean-American from Ann Arbor, Michigan find her way to Spain and form a Spanish Jazz quartet? “I’m not sure why, but from an early age I have always been drawn to Spanish melodies,” Maureen Choi said by telephone. “Growing up studying classical violin, my favorite pieces were the violin concertos with a little bit of Spanish flair. And when I started studying jazz I discovered Latin rhythms and became intrigued by their complexity.”
This weekend a collection of carefully placed screws, bolts, and pieces of wood, cloth, and rubber will make the Steinway in CIM’s Mixon Hall sound less like a piano and more like an ensemble of percussion instruments.
From its inception, the nurturing of young artists has been an important part of 
For 36 seasons, 