NE Jazz & Wine Festival '09 - Press Release
17 Dec 2009
by:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Larry Luttinger, Executive Director
CNY Jazz Arts Foundation, Inc.
(315) 479-5299
(315) 479-7409 (fax)
larry@cnyjazz.org
www.cnyjazz.org
International Jazz Festival Adds New Dimension
Syracuse, NY, 16 June 2009 – The Jazz in the Square tradition continues to bring great music, fun, food and drink for the whole family to downtown Syracuse – with a new twist that more than doubles the appeal of the event. Renamed the “Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival,” a new dimension has been added - wine tasting, to make this the first festival of its kind east of the Rockies. Patrons will still enjoy the same surroundings, with the finest jazz the world has to offer on three stages, late night club dates, jam sessions, strolling musicians and a very popular scholastic festival in which regional music students get to perform with nationally known artists.
The biggest new attractions this year are the Wines of the World tasting courses, to be held daily in the air conditioned Atrium Building promenade adjoining Clinton Square. Designed for those who like wine and are interested in learning more about it, more than a dozen selections from around the world will be available throughout the festival, in courses guided by the area’s most celebrated wine experts. The selections will be chosen from the vintners of Beringer wines and the Foster’s Group. To accompany the wide selection of wines, the festival is also adding a dimension with an expanded food and product vendor court. Another new feature is the addition of two covered party pavilions sponsored by Unimar, themed “Mardis Gras” and “World Beat”. Located in Clinton Square, they will feature the best in Dixieland and traditional jazz plus many kinds of ethnic jazz, world music and blues.
The festival has forged a partnership with an important regional charity as well, the regional chapter of the American Red Cross. All donations made to the festival will serve to support the Red Cross. Learn more about how individuals and businesses can donate by going to the festival web site, www.nejazzwinefest.org.
The Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival remains the performing arts anchor of “Syracuse Artsweek”, a visual and performing arts “festival of festivals”. This combination of events results in a signature summer program for the region, a cultural tourism attraction for Syracuse and a potent image maker for the region’s economic and cultural profile as the “Creative Core” of Upstate New York. Artsweek was created by combining Jazz in the Square with the juried Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival into one larger event, with Connective Corridor “arts buses” serving as the link to these and other cultural venues in the area. A two-block long “arts walk” serves as a pedestrian conduit between Columbus Circle and Clinton Square, celebrating the visual and performing arts with a focus on public art being made in front of the public’s eyes. This year a new and unique sustainability outreach festival will be added to Artsweek, the “Blue Rain ECOfest”. This festival is the Northeast’s first multi-day event of its kind targeted at families and households concerned with saving the planet. A proven total audience of over 50,000 will attend all of the events of Syracuse Artsweek.
The Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival marks the eighth year of jazz programming in downtown Syracuse. The original jazz festival, Jazz in the Square, was created in response to overwhelming public opinion that indicated Syracuse deserved a downtown jazz festival that would boost the Salt City’s cultural scene and economy. What sets this event apart is that it is produced by a not-for-profit regional performing arts organization, the Central New York Jazz Arts Foundation (CNYJAF), at www.cnyjazz.org). By collaborating with other Downtown Syracuse supporters and destinations to serve the largest downtown footprint possible, the festival has become an anchor event for Syracuse’s cultural revival. It is only one of many initiatives developed by the CNYJAF, now the second largest art music presenter in Central New York and the surrounding region. The Foundation is the region’s primary year-round producer of jazz events in concert, cabaret, scholastic, and festival settings. Its mission is to boost exposure to and participation in the jazz art form for the whole community - downtown residents and merchants, urban youth, and African-American and Latino minorities.
“Our festival is a celebration of the unique diversity and social power of America’s Music,” said Luttinger. Each year’s schedule of concert, club, and educational jazz events has been designed to provide an incredibly diverse selection of jazz styles to sample, from classic swing to symphonic jazz, big band to bebop, jam band funk to R&B and Smooth Jazz and all Latin styles, as well as scholastic groups of all kinds. The CNYJAF has been providing a winter season of events to the region since 1996, including the prize-winning Central New York Jazz Orchestra (CNYJO) Concert Series. It now programs year-round at its downtown arts center “Jazz Central”, attracting over 850 patrons each month to all types of shows in its theater. “Our year-round mission is to bring jazz in all its forms to our area,” said Luttinger. “We are bringing the same dedication to artistry, education and multicultural outreach to this great festival that we have been delivering in concert, cabaret and educational programs for years.”
In addition to the event’s wine sponsors, new corporate sponsors have added their support to this year’s festival, led by American Express, sponsor of the festival’s Main Stage, Unimar, sponsor of the Party Pavilions, Four Points Media, sponsor of the Late Night Jams at Jazz Central, and Wilber Bank. They are joined by returning sponsors National Grid, SRCTec, Green & Seifter, Time Warner Cable, The Downtown Committee, City of Syracuse, WAER, News 10 Now, Syracuse New Times, Eastwood Litho, Lockheed Martin Employees’ Federated Fund, Inalign, ADWORKS, Sunny 102, Syrasoul, Syracuse Teachers Union, Ra-Lin, Sheraton University, DUMAC, and other individual and business sponsors and vendors to make this long weekend of jazz, food and fun happen for Syracuse. Said Luttinger, “I am so pleased with the way the entire community has responded to our plans to bring this event up a notch. The Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitors Bureau has worked closely with us to design a ‘Jazz, Wine and Art’ weekend package at the University Sheraton that they are promoting heavily throughout the Northeast U.S. and Canada. They are also bringing groups to our event, such as the ‘Iron Girl’ triathlon athletes who will be competing the day after our festival on Oneida Lake. These partnerships show real concern for nurturing our urban economy and culture by our large family of corporations and individuals.”
The festival is made possible again by Senator John A. DeFrancisco, a strong believer in jazz as an essentially urban art form with great power for social and economic improvement. They share in the knowledge that downtown Syracuse is kept vital by summer festivals, and by the hard, year-round work of performing arts organizations like the CNY Jazz Arts Foundation. “I am very excited that we are once again gearing up for another great year of jazz in Central New York,” said Senator John A. DeFrancisco. “With talented bands and artists such as The Thelonius Monk Project and CNYJO with Joe Magnarelli, I am confident that this year will be a success. I have had the pleasure of watching this wonderful event grow, and I am pleased that I was once again able to secure funding for it, so that we can keep jazz alive in downtown Syracuse.”
Syracuse Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Youth Programs, Patrick Driscoll said,
“It is no secret that the Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival has been a popular attraction for well know Jazz Artists and fans alike. We are pleased to welcome many folks from many parts of the country to historic Clinton Square.”
According to Larry Luttinger, organizer of the festival, “Savvy local festival goers can make this event a “staycation” by checking into the University Sheraton for the great discount overnight package, then come down early for the kickoff Happy Hour sets to sample fine wines, catch a great meal and be in place in time for our main stage offerings. Aficionados can stay for the after-concert music in our new pavilions, and on Friday and Saturday nights, they can hit the jams at Jazz Central until the wee hours. They can now visit the acclaimed Arts & Crafts festival every day throughout the weekend, and browse through the Artsweek corridor and the Blue Rain ECOfest exhibits and music and dance stage in Hanover Square. What a jam packed extended weekend of culture and fun, and it’s all here in Syracuse”.
The Jazz Festival
Resident Artist Named
This year’s festival proudly announces it first “resident artist” , Syracuse’s native son and acclaimed jazz trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, who has become a mainstay on the international jazz scene, with extended stints in the bands of Lionel Hampton, Harry Connick, Jr. and Ray Barretto in his varied resume, as well as multiple recordings as both leader and sideman. Mr. Magnarelli will be applying his prodigious talents in various settings throughout the event, on the main stage.
Battle of the Community Jazz Bands
Another new feature in the jazz festival schedule is the new “Battle of the Community Jazz Bands”, that will take to the Main Stage Saturday afternoon after the Scholastic Festival. “More than one of these ‘businessmen’s and women’s groups’ sought us out, wanting to be a part of the event,” said Larry Luttinger. “I had no idea they existed, in some cases, and we were glad to oblige. They’ll be strutting their stuff in style on the main stage, and I encourage our audience to come and support them.”
Event Schedule
Each night of the festival kicks off with great Happy Hour groups in the twin party pavilions, whose sets alternate with the main stage, creating a schedule of continuous music.
Thursday July 23rd
The opening night of the festival always features the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra playing a night of swing as only they can do, due to the vast library of orchestral jazz left to them by the late Calvin Custer. Resident artist Joe Magnarelli and members of the CNY Jazz Orchestra will be joining them for the occasion.
Friday July 25th
The American Express Main Stage schedule kicks off with a set led by piano wunderkind John Stetch, one of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary jazz artists, nominated four times for the Juno Award and a long-time member of the Tana-Reid ensemble led by Rufus Reid. Stetch has been a fixture on the New York scene for the past fifteen years, releasing ten recordings as leader. He is touring with his trio in support of his latest fun filled and Juno-nominated project, TV Trio, in which he deconstructs and recomposes famous TV themes, ranging from the well known Flintstones and Star Trek songs to the most incredibly unlikely themes from shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Waltons.
Following John is the prize-winning and celebrated CNY Jazz Orchestra led by Bret Zvacek, featuring new compositions as well as selections from their international release “Then, Now & Again”, with the added voice of resident artist Joe Magnarelli, who will drop in for his very first appearance with the CNYJO.
Finishing the evening’s lineup is headliner Marion Meadows, a giant on the smooth jazz saxophone scene. A student of Joe Henderson, Dave Liebman and Eddie Daniels, he first became a well known sideman, recording or performing with Brook Benton, Eartha Kitt, Phyllis Hyman, Jean Carne, The Temptations, Michael Bolton, Angela Bofill and Will Downing, among many others. An incredibly versatile musician, Meadows also has stretched pop/jazz boundaries as a member of New York’s avant-garde band, the Aboriginal Music Society. Meadows first hit the airwaves in 1991 with For Lovers Only, catching the attention of TV composer Jay Chattaway, who was so impressed that he hooked Meadows up with legendary West Coast keyboardist Bob James.
This marked the beginning of his solo career with major label RCA. He has since become a staple of the smooth jazz world with his subsequent recordings, including Keep It Right Here (1993), Forbidden Fruit (1994) and Body Rhythm (1996) and many more since. Now a Phoenix, AZ, resident, Meadows now records for Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group. He is touring in support of his latest release, Secrets (2009).
After the main stage closes at 11pm, the jam session at Jazz Central will host main stage artists in a free-for-all that always lasts until close to dawn.
Saturday July 25th
Saturday of Jazz in the Square always highlights the talents of Central New York’s finest students in its Scholastic Festival, starting at noon on the American Express main stage in Clinton Square. In keeping with the CNY Jazz Arts Foundation’s deep commitment to jazz education, this event takes on an “open classroom” environment, giving audiences a valuable “inside look” at the creative process at work. Each group gets a chance to play with this year’s resident artist, Joe Magnarelli, who will solo with each group. Then the groups remain on stage to receive comments, demonstrate or replay their repertoire in a master class setting with Magnarelli. Following the scholastic activities, the Battle of the Community Jazz Bands commences until 6pm.
Saturday evening’s program kicks off with a set by the Thelonius Monk Project, led by Bill Dobbins, arguably the world’s finest example of the artist-educator. Now on the faculty at the Eastman School of Music, he is director of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and the Eastman Studio Orchestra. As a pianist he has performed with classical orchestras and chamber ensembles under the direction of Pierre Boulez and Lukas Foss, and has performed and recorded with such jazz artists as Clark Terry, Al Cohn, Red Mitchell, Phil Woods, Bill Goodwin, Dave Liebman, Kevin Mahogany and Paquito D'Rivera. From 1994 through 2002, Dobbins was principal director of the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany. Concert, radio, television, and touring projects under his direction include those with internationally acclaimed soloists such as Clark Terry, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Gary Bartz, Art Farmer, Steve Lacy, Clare Fischer, Peter Erskine, and the Kings Singers. Jazz education programs worldwide have adopted his volumes of transcriptions of classic jazz piano solos and jazz textbooks for use in their courses. Many of his students have been heard in the big bands of Count Basie, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Chuck Mangione, and Maria Schneider, have become successful in the Los Angeles television and film music industry, and are on the faculties of jazz programs in many of the world's leading music schools.
Next up is a return engagement by a dynamic singer who has become a Central New York favorite, Miami’s Nicole Henry. According to Jazz Times, “She can sell a power ballad as well as Whitney, Diana and Patti…” Nicole last visited Syracuse in February, when CNY Jazz presented her to a sellout audience in the Persian Terrace as their Black History Month guest artist. In the U.S., she’s been featured in New York City at The Rainbow Room, Cotton Club and Lincoln Center and at jazz clubs like The Iridium, 55 Bar and Smalls. She’s also been presented by the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis; Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh; and in South Florida, at Jazziz Bistro and Arturo Sandoval’s. She has shared the stage with Isaac Hayes, Jennifer Holiday, Nicholas Payton, Joan Osborne, Roberta Flack and performed with Kenny Werner and Tom Scott.
Finishing the festival is the incredible Donald Harrison, the “King of Nouveau Swing.”
Harrison has been called one of the most important musicians of the new millennium by CBS Sunday Morning. A list of his accomplishments shows that he has developed into a musical category unto himself. In the classic jazz genre, he is the originator of the Nouveau Swing style, which merges acoustic swing with modern R&B, second-line, hip-hop, (New Orleans African American roots culture), and reggae rhythms. A proven master of many musical genres, his compositions are now part of the standard repertoire of jazz. R&B and smooth jazz worlds. Also a hip-hop emcee, he has influenced rap culture as an early mentor of The Notorius BIG, as documented on VH-1. He is also a master singer/dancer in traditional New Orleans culture. Harrison even designs and makes his own Mardi Gras costumes which are considered works of art. He is The Big Chief of New Orleans’ Congo Square with his group the Congo Nation. He has also composed and played classical works with major orchestras. The question with Harrison is not “What can he do,” but “Is there anything he can’t do?”
The 47-year-old saxophonist is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of these times, yet he remains inextricably tied to his New Orleans roots. The son of late great Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr, he began working with Roy Haynes at age 19 and Jack McDuff at age 20. He joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers at age 21. A few years later, he co-led a band with Terence Blanchard that had an enormous impact on the development of the "neo-conservative" movement. After that group split in 1989, Harrison became a prodigious leader releasing a number of well-received records. Harrison has also discovered and nurtured some of the finest young jazz musicians like the young trumpeter Christian Scott, Mark Whitfield, Dwayne Burno, Christian McBride, Cyrus Chestnut, as well as rap icon The Notorious BIG. He also worked with a wide variety of world-class talents including Lena Horne, Spike Lee, and the smash hip–hop groups, Jazzmatazz, The Notorius BIG, and Digable Planets. All of this diverse experience fuels Harrison's dynamic sound. Currently he performs regularly with his own group as well as The Head Hunters, Jennifer Holiday, Larry Coryell, and The Art of Four with Billy Cobham, Ron Carter, and James Williams.
He is one of the few musicians who can play it all - from traditional New Orleans, to swing, bop, post-bop, modern, smooth, avant-garde, and beyond. The New York Times has said "Mr. Harrison has turned out to be one of the most musicologically literate jazz players to come out in ages.”
Throughout the festival, Montgomery Street locations along the Visual Art Corridor linking Northeast Jazz & Wine festival with the Arts & Crafts festival in Columbus Circle will be stops for roving street musicians. A complete Clinton Square Party Pavilion and Blue Rain ECOfest music and dance schedule will be announced at a later date.
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A Note Regarding Our Look
The marvelous, hip and classy look and overall direction of this year’s festival print and web based graphic art is provided by ADWorks of Skaneateles. Our web services provider, InAlign, is responsible for the completely redesigned festival web site at www.nejazzwinefest.org. These efforts bring an international level of visual quality to this event that equals its musical and cultural artistry. Many thanks for their dedication, belief in our mission and total expertise.