Thu 6/22-Sat 6/24
This weekend’s event is either the 43rd or 44th annual Tri-C JazzFest, depending on whether you want to count the all-virtual all-local Tri-C JazzFest 2020 which saw the cancellation of a raft of beguiling headliners slated for Playhouse Square. In 2021 the festival moved to Cain Park for a scaled-down two-day event before returning to full strength at Playhouse Square last year.
Tri-C JazzFest again returns to Playhouse Square, with eight ticketed concerts inside the various theaters there and a full lineup o mostly local acts on Friday and Saturday on the outdoor stage with the corner of East 14th and Euclid closed off for food trucks, vendors, games, art street performers and more. The outdoor events are free.
As usual, both the indoor and outdoor concerts offer a diverse group of musicians in various jazz styles and even some that push the boundaries of jazz. Things kick off on Thursday June 22 with 62-year-old multiple Grammy-winning vocalist Angélique Kidjo, originally from Benin and later Paris, who was scheduled t perform at the cancelled 2020 festival. She’ll be joined at the Mimi Ohio Theatre by special guest, bassist Richard Bona from Cameroon.
On Friday June 23, superstar jazz bassist Christian McBride will be paired with 23- year-old jazz vocalist Samara Joy who won this year’s Grammy for Best New Artist, also at the Mimi Ohio. The same evening, jazz sax player/bassist/keyboardist Gerald Albright will bring his versatile music with its pop/funk leanings to the Connor Palace Theatre. And closing out Friday, Akron jazz guitarist Dan Wilson and vocalist/trumpet player Jennifer Hartswick will offer a Stevie Wonder tribute at the Allen Theatre.
Saturday afternoon, internationally renowned trumpet player Dominick Farinacci, a veteran of many JazzFests and director of its youth camp, will be in the Allen Theatre with his latest ensemble Triad. Together with multi-instrumentalist Christian Tamburr and accordion player Michael Ward-Bergeman, the ensemble creates music that blends jazz with blues, classical and world music. JazzFest’s 2023 artist in residence, sax player/vocalist Braxton Cook, opens with his soul/R&B-infused sound.
Later, 82-year-old jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock, known for his forays into electronic jazz/funk and his hit 1983 “Rockit,” will perform at the Mimi Ohio. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue will bring the sound of America’s jazziest city, New Orleans to the Connor Palace and Steve Smith and Vital Information will close the evening, cooling things down with their more cerebral fusion jazz.
Outside on Friday, jazz vocalist Reggie Kelly kicks things off at 3pm, followed by Ernie Krivda and the Fat Tuesday Big Band, Dave Gulley and the Cleveland Chorale, sax player Ronell Regis, Cleveland’s Brazilian-style Samba de Cidade, jazz quarter CB4 and reggae ensemble Carlos Jones & the P.L.U.S. Band.
Saturday Thomas Cikra Schinabeck, a Tri-C JazzFest Academy alumni currently studying at the Peabody Conservatory, will perform some of his original music to start the day at 3pm. He’ll be followed by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Da Land Brass Band, trumpeter Tommy Lehman, Akron’s funky Nathan-Paul & the Admirables, the bluesy Becky Boyd & her band the Groove Train, and the infectious, high-energy Latin jazz of Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta.
And catch upcoming jazz stars, including multiple performances by the Tri-C JazzFest Academy on the Next Gen outdoor stage. Closing each night at 10:30pm, the restaurant Bin 216 in Playhouse Square will host a jazz jam session — you never know who might show up.
Get full details about Tri-C JazzFest here.