|
Tri-C Jazzfest Cleveland presents blockbuster line-up
Three great women and an emphasis on young talent not to be missed
CLEVELAND Festival organizers have announced a blockbuster lineup for the 33rd annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland to be held April 19-29, 2012. With something for every taste, the festival will present legendary artists, rising young stars and three generations of great women.
Aretha Franklin, the veritable Queen of Soul, winner of 18 Grammys and the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will perform at the State Theatre opening weekend (April 21), sponsored by American Greetings. Diana Krall, who has sold over 15 million albums, will close the festival at the State Theatre (April 28), sponsored by KeyBank, and bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding, the first jazz artist to receive the Grammy for Best New Artist (2011), will perform at the Tri-C Metropolitan Campus opening night (April 19).
Other festival highlights will include a funky, grooveoriented evening (April 27) with David Sanborns trio (featuring monster organist Joey DeFrancesco) opened by Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; a performance (April 26 ) by Jack DeJohnette, 2012 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and one of the most resourceful and influential drummers of the past three decades; and a smooth jazz all-star explosion (April 20), featuring Gerald Albright, Walter Beasley, Norman Brown, Maysa, Brian Simpson and Peter White.
Cutting-edge drummer Matt Wilson and his Arts & Crafts band will play at Tri-Cs new Black Box Theatre (April 25) on the Tri-C Metro Campus, and Cleveland favorite Ernie Krivda will bring Thunder from the Heartland to the Hermit Club (April 24), with an all-star group of jazz artists from the Midwest.
With a spotlight on up-and-coming artists beginning with the newly initiated Young Visiting Artists program directed by Dominick Farinacci, Tri-C JazzFest is presenting an array of exciting newcomers: Marcus Strickland at Tri-Cs Black Box Theatre (April 22); bassist Ben Williams at the East Cleveland Public Library (April 22); vocalist Kellylee Evans in a tribute to singer/activist Nina Simone at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church (April 21); and a reunion of stellar alumni at the Main Stage Theatre, Metro, (April 23) from the Tri-C JazzFest High School All-Stars that includes Sean Jones, Jerome Jennings, Curtis Taylor, Dominick Farinacci and many more.
Jazz Lives Here: Tri-C JazzFest was founded in 1980 as an educational jazz festival and takes its mission to develop audiences and groom future jazz legends seriously. To that end, Jazz For Kids, a program for wee-boppers and their families will take place at the Childrens Museum of Cleveland (April 21); two days of clinics and workshops with high school and college bands will be led by national artists (April 23-24); and a Showtime at High Noon concert at Playhouse Square (April 25) will feature Swing Kids with Dominick Farinacci and alumni from the Jazz Studies Program at Tri-C. Through offerings such as these and the Young Visiting Artists Program, Tri-C is becoming a year-round center for jazz and American Music.
The 33rd annual festival will kick off April 19 at 5 p.m. with a New Orleans Second-Line at Public Square. It will be led by the Salty Dogs Brass Band from New Orleans and the Shaw High School Mighty Cardinals Marching Band.
Sponsors for the 33rd Annual Tri-C JazzFest include: American Greetings; KeyBank; Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield; Dominion Resources; National Endowment for the Arts; NEA Jazz Masters Live; Ohio Arts Council; Margaret Wong & Associates Co., LPA; The MG International Group, LLC; Roetzel & Andress, LPA and Strassman Insurance Services, Inc.
Tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. on January 20, 2012. For group rates, discount packages or shows at Tri-C, call 216-987-4444 or visit www.tricpresents.com
For shows at the State Theatre, call 216-241-6000, 866-546-1353 or visit www.playhousesquare.org
For artist photos, contact Phil Barr at [email protected].
The complete 2012 Tri-C JazzFest Schedule:
Special JazzFest Preview Performances
Feb. 20, 7 p.m. Presidents Day Invitational, Young Visiting Artists with Dominick Farinacci, Aaron Diehl, Charenee Wade, Cleveland Heights Singers & Tri-C JazzFest High School All-Stars, Tri-C Main Stage Theatre; tickets: $10
Feb. 21, 8 p.m. Eddie Baccus Sr., Cecil Rucker, Bobby Curry, Perry Williams III, Eddie Baccus Jr., and special guest Gene Walker at Karamu House; FREE
April 16, 8 p.m. Paul Samuel 4 and the Tri-C Trio + at Brothers Lounge; tickets $15
Tri-C Jazz Fest Lineup
April 19, 5 p.m. Kick Off and Second Line at Public Square; free
April 19, 8 p.m. Esperanza Spalding, Tri-C Metro Auditorium; tickets $30
April 20, 8 p.m. Smooth Jazz All-Stars with Brian Simpson, Peter White, Maysa, Norman Brown, Gerald Albright, Walter Beasley, State Theatre; tickets $30-45, call 216-241-6000
April 21, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Jazz for Kids, Childrens Museum of Cleveland; tickets $5 museum members, $10 general public, call 216-791-KIDS
April 21, 1 p.m. A Tribute to Nina Simone with Kellylee Evans and Ki Allen, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, FREE
April 21 8 p.m. An Evening with Aretha Franklin, sponsored by American Greetings, State Theatre; tickets $50-$75 call 216-241-6000
April 22, 4 p.m. Ben Williams & Sound Effect, East Cleveland Public Library; tickets $10
April 22, 7 p.m. Marcus Strickland, Black Box at Tri-C Metropolitan Campus; tickets $10
April 23, 7 p.m. -- Down Beat Invitational featuring The Tri-C Alumni Big Band with special guests Matt Wilson, Robert Hurst, Terell Stafford, Main Stage Theatre, Tri-C Metropolitan Campus; Tri-C JazzFest High School All-Stars will also perform; tickets $10
April 24, 7 p.m. Thunder from the Heartland: Ernie Krivda, Renell Gonsalves, Bobby Floyd, Brad Goode, Jeff Grubbs, Bobby Broom, The Hermit Club; tickets $25
April 25, Noon Swing Kids with Dominick Farinacci and Tri-C Jazz Studies Alumnni, Showtime at High Noon, State Theatre; FREE
April 25, 8 p.m. Matt Wilsons Arts & Crafts, Black Box at Tri-C Metropolitan Campus; tickets $25
April 26, 8 p.m. The Jack DeJohnette Group, Main Stage Theatre, Tri-C Metropolitan Campus; tickets $30
April 27, 8 p.m. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue open for David Sanborn Trio featuring Joey DeFrancesco and Byron Landham, State Theatre; tickets $30 - $45, call 216-241-6000
April 28, 8 p.m. An Evening with Diana Krall, sponsored by KeyBank, State Theatre; tickets $55-$85, call 216-241-6000
April 29, 7 & 9 p.m. TCJF Soundworks, Nighttown; tickets $15, call 216-795-0550
All artists and programming are subject to change.
Tri-C Presents, a division of Tri-C Creative Arts, is a premier performing arts series in Northeast Ohio, showcasing arts and cultural performances including Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, Showtime at High Noon, The Song is You!, and the Classical Piano Recital Series. Cuyahoga Community College Creative Arts presents significant contemporary artistic programs of the highest quality for its diverse multicultural audiences. These experiences are designed to stimulate, enlighten, educate and mutually enrich the artists and the community. A variety of free performances, workshops, and residencies are offered throughout the season to complement a wide array of performing arts programs held at the Tri-C campuses, PlayhouseSquare and other locations around the city.
Tri-C® Where futures begin
www.tri-c.edu
|
