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There’s no talent that beats local talent: Farinacci & Thomas at JazzFest (June 26)

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by Ben Giesen

DownBeat music magazine describes the Tri-C JazzFest as a performance series that provides “the type of top-tier talent typically found at a much larger festival.”

Wandering through this year’s JazzFest, I encountered no shortage of groups that fit the description of “top-tier talent.” Yet, the most captivating entertainers were the ones that understood their audience on a truly personal level. From the performances I saw, no other group fostered this connection quite like the duo of trumpeter Dominick Farinacci and pianist Jon Thomas.

Both Cleveland natives and both globally acclaimed, these artists can enchant a room with their wit just as much as they can with their music. In fact, when they took the stage at The Hanna Theatre on day two of the 2026 Tri-C JazzFest, there was hardly a break in the music when they weren’t bantering with an audience member.

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Tri-C JazzFest returns for 2026

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by Ben Giesen

The 47th edition of the Tri-C JazzFest will be taking place at Playhouse Square from Thursday, June 25th through Saturday, June 27th. With eleven ticketed indoor events and numerous free outdoor performances and festivities, this celebration of Cleveland’s musical heritage will offer no shortage of entertainment.

The indoor line-up will feature a unique group of musicians ranging from jazz giants like bassist Ron Carter, who has shared the stage with Miles Davis, “Cannonball” Adderly, and Thelonious Monk — among many others — to rising stars like Durand Burnarr, who has been gaining significant traction in the neo soul world since receiving a Grammy Award for his 2025 album, Bloom.

Neo soul fans will also want to hear bassist MonoNeon as well as Chris Dave & The Drumheads featuring Stokely. World renowned jazz vocalist and lyricist, Kurt Elling, will be performing music from his ongoing duo album series, Wildflowers, with pianist Fred Hersch. Keep an eye out for Cleveland’s own Dominick Farinacci and Lauren Talese who will be performing in the Hanna Theater on the 26th at 6 PM and on the 27th at 7 PM.

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Divas reign at Tri-C JazzFest (June 21 & 22)

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by Peter Feher

The divas didn’t have to share the stage at Tri-C JazzFest this year. After a 2023 lineup that saw star singers paired with other performers or as part of larger projects, this summer’s schedule put the spotlight back on solo acts.

Creative freedom reigned in headlining sets by Cécile McLorin Salvant and Ledisi — two very different artists who could only come together here, under the big tent that is jazz. Both vocalists have a singular sensibility that somewhat transcends the limits of genre, although that’s where the similarities end. [Read more…]

Take 6 opens Tri-C JazzFest 2024 (June 20)

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by Max Newman

If there’s anything to be said about legendary acapella sextet Take 6, it’s that the group has most certainly still got it. This was apparent on the evening of June 20 as the ensemble took the stage at the Mimi Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square. The concert was the perfect introduction to Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland 2024, with a timeless musical performance and an incredible level of energy to boot.

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Tri-C JazzFest: Sam Blakeslee takes the stage

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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.”

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Festival season in Cleveland gets underway

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by Daniel Hathaway

The early onset of summery weather even before May has run its course heralds a shift in Northeast Ohio’s classical music activity from concert series to festivals — six of which will launch in the next few weeks.

Local 4 of the American Federation of Musicians will present the fourth edition of She Scores, a celebration of music written by underrepresented composers, from May 30 through June 2 (Thursday through Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 4) in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In a preview article, Mike Telin writes, “what began with performances of works by 16 composers has now blossomed into a four-concert series featuring works by 31 living composers who identify as female or nonbinary.” Emily Laurance will give a pre-concert lecture an hour before each performance. Admission is free.

Encore Chamber Music’s 9th annual Music and Ideas Festival gets underway on June 2, and continues through June 24. [Read more…]

Tri-C JazzFest wraps up with a bang (June 25)

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by Peter Feher

Tri-C JazzFest went out with a bang this year. The stages at Playhouse Square got bigger and busier with each act on the schedule for Saturday, June 25. Steady momentum was the theme all around, not least for the Festival itself, which this summer returned to full size, following a detour online in 2020 and the move to a smaller venue, Cain Park, in 2021.

Yet nothing quite compares to taking over Cleveland’s theater district for the weekend. Back on home turf, the 43rd annual Festival again drew a crowd to the free outdoor stage at the intersection of Euclid and E. 14th Street. Inside, the headlining performers more than filled the house sonically, though this had little to do with the number of musicians playing. [Read more…]

Tri-C JazzFest finds its groove at Playhouse Square (first of three reviews) 

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by Jacob Strauss

With food trucks lined up on E. 14th Street by the Strassman Insurance Stage on Euclid, Tri-C JazzFest was hitting its groove on Friday, June 24.

Cats on Holiday, a swamp pop band from Cleveland wearing Hawaiian shirts, was playing on the outdoor stage when I arrived. There was an accordion player with a crawdad printed on the bellows, and a man playing spoons on a washboard, who, in a moment of poetry, said there is redemption and grace and love in carrying pain, and that is why the perseverance of the people of Cleveland is special.

After eating a Po’boy from The Dawg Bowl Cajun food truck, I caught the first half of Brian Culbertson’s show in The Connor Palace Theatre. [Read more…]

JazzFest comes home to Playhouse Square

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by Mike Telin

It feels like forever since Tri-C JazzFest was last held in its customary location. During the past two years, Festival director Terri Pontremoli and her team produced one of the best online jazz festivals around, and in September of 2021 Cain Park proved to be a terrific substitute location.

Finally the wait is over. From June 23-25, the 43rd annual Tri-C JazzFest comes home to Playhouse Square. The 2022 lineup features eight ticketed concerts in Playhouse Square theatres, with a special opening night concert — dedicated to retiring Tri-C President Alex Johnson — at Cleveland Public Auditorium’s Music Hall on June 23 at 8:00 pm. That show stars legendary soul storyteller Anthony Hamilton backed up by an all-star ensemble.

“I don’t want to be too positive, but it does feel like things are getting back to normal,” Terri Pontremoli said during a telephone conversation. [Read more…]

Tri-C JazzFest 2021 (September 11-12)

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by Peter Feher

Tri-C JazzFest was back in the swing of things this summer. After a 2020 season of virtual performances, the festival returned to an all-star, in-person lineup this year, thanks to some patient planning. The date was pushed from June to September, and the venue shifted from Playhouse Square to an all-outdoor space, Cain Park.

The result was maybe a more relaxed setup but with no less serious music-making. Ten mainstage acts made up the schedule for the 42nd annual Festival, and if there was a connecting thread through this diverse lineup, it was that artistry always came first. [Read more…]

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