by Max Newman
In addition to the stellar indoor lineup, there will be a myriad of talented artists featured on the outdoor stage at this year’s Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, to be held June 20-22 at Playhouse Square. One to keep an eye on is New York-based trombonist and composer Sam Blakeslee, who will be performing on Friday, June 21 at 6:45 pm as the bandleader of the Sam Blakeslee Large Group.
Blakeslee is cherishing the opportunity. “I have a pretty close relationship with Tri-C,” he told me during a telephone conversation. “When I was still living in Cleveland, I was the director of the JazzFest Academy, and then I taught trombone lessons at the College. I’m very grateful they’ve been supportive of me to come through and work with the students a couple of times a year, but this is the first time since 2017 that I’ll be performing with my own band. So it will be a nice reunion of sorts.”