by Rory O’Donoghue
The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz orchestra brought a lively set to the Ohio Theatre on Friday, June 28 as part of Tri-C JazzFest. Joined by the incomparable talent of Dianne Reeves and trumpetist Dominick Farinacci, the evening was a joyous celebration of Cleveland-born jazz legend Tadd Dameron. [Read more…]
by Rory O’Donoghue
“I wouldn’t be here without this man,” pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy said, gesturing to Béla Fleck. “I wouldn’t be here without me either,” Fleck retorted.
With bassist Victor Wooten and percussionist and “drumitarist” Roy “Future Man” Wooten, they form the “extraordinary initial lineup” of Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. The quartet closed the night on June 28 at the KeyBank State Theatre, a Tri-C JazzFest double-feature that opened with John Scofield’s Combo 66. It was an evening of legends, only getting better with age. [Read more…]
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 more…]
by Mike Telin
Art reflects society. We were reminded of that on Sunday, November 4 in a sold-out Maltz Performing Arts Center, when Tri-C JazzFest presented OUR VOICES: DEMOCRACY RE:visited. The evening celebrated the landmark passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It also provided a disturbing reminder that our nation’s fight to achieve liberty and justice for all is far from over. [Read more…]
by Delaney Meyers & Mike Telin
The Saturday, June 30 performances at the Tri-C Jazz Fest began with a captivating set by Vinicius Cantuaria. During the 1:00 pm, seventy-minute concert at the intimate Hanna Theater, the Brazilian took the audience on a sonic journey of the enthralling world of bossa novas. There were no long introductions and no gimmicky jokes, he and his band came onstage and let their music do the talking. [Read more…]
by Alice Koeninger
Despite its title, Tri-C Jazz Fest deviated from true jazz to more pop styles of music on the evening of Saturday, June 30. Snarky Puppy began their sold-out set around 6:00 pm in the Ohio Theatre. The large audience included entire families, all excited to hear this Grammy-award winning band perform. [Read more…]
by Delaney Meyers
On Thursday evening, June 28, Dee Dee Bridgewater kicked off the 39th annual Tri-C JazzFest with a performance of her 2017 concept album Memphis… Yes, I’m Ready. The DIVA Jazz Orchestra (left) opened the night with original music, some of which will appear on their upcoming 25th anniversary celebration album in March. Each piece, composed by members of the band, featured various musicians as they sauntered up to the mic to take their solos. [Read more…]
by Alice Koeninger
Friday night of the Tri-C Jazz Fest was a whirl of music, from the outdoor stage on a street lined with food trucks, to the steady stream of shows in the Playhouse Square theaters. Bands such as Organ Ism, Acid Cats, and Uptown Buddha filled the blocked-off streets with their neo-soul, funk, jazz, and hip-hop hybrids. Tents were selling Cleveland-themed clothes, jewelry, and household items, plus some more unique products like wine slushies or bags made from recycled jeans. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Known as “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” Columbus native Michael Feinstein will make his Tri-C JazzFest debut with his popular show The Gershwins and Me on Friday, April 26 at 8:00 pm in the Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square.
Feinstein, a multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer, performs more then 200 shows a year in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, Buckingham Palace and the White House as well as his Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency.
In addition to serving on The Library of Congress’s National Sound Recording Advisory Board, Feinstein also hosts the popular NPR show Song Travels. He is the director of a new popular music series for Jazz at Lincoln Center and in 2007, he created the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative, now headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. With its mission to bring the music of the Great American Songbook to young people today and to preserve it for future generations, The Great American Songbook Initiative’s activities include a high school vocal competition, The Great American Songbook Hall of Fame, numerous educational activities and an archive and gallery. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
As part of Cleveland’s 2013 Tri-C JazzFest, renowned jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen will be performing with the Rimon Jazz Institute Ensemble from Tel Aviv as well as the Tri-C Jazz Studies Workshop Ensemble on April 24 beginning at 7:30 pm in the Tri-C Metro Campus Auditorium. Voted Clarinetist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association six years and counting, last September Cohen released her sixth album as a bandleader, Claroscuro, which features her on both clarinet and saxophone. We reached her by telephone to talk about the album and her upcoming performance in Cleveland.
Jarrett Hoffman: Could you tell me a little about the title of your newest record, Claroscuro?
Anat Cohen: Well, when I was listening back on the album, I realized there’s quite a lot of contrast—dark pieces, dance pieces, bright pieces. I thought of the Italian painting technique of light and shade, chiaroscuro. So Claroscuro is like a Spanish, “clarinet-way” to say chiaroscuro. [Read more…]