3 Nights 30 Bands 20 Clubs; performance venues downtown nightclubs, bars, and restaurants.
Multi-Media story Exclusive Preview of 2022 Syracuse Jazz Fest by Executive Director Frank Malfitano -Video
During its unparalleled 35-year run from 1982-2017, Syracuse Jazz Fest played host to countless jazz legends and music industry superstars whose performances and appearances garnered the festival national and international acclaim and Worldwide recognition within and throughout the global jazz community.
Syracuse Jazz Fest – the popular and long-running music festival which has been on hiatus the past 5 years – will be making its return to Downtown Syracuse’s Clinton Square and a variety of indoor city nightspots this week, in and around the immediate area.
3 Nights| 30 Bands | 20 Clubs
According to festival officials, the 2022 edition of Syracuse Jazz Fest in Downtown Syracuse will run for three nights from Thursday, June 23rd through Saturday June 25th, and will feature performances by International and National Artists on the festival’s Clinton Square Main Stage as well as performances by 30 bands, including Syracuse’s finest jazz groups will appear at a variety of performances venues downtown nightclubs, bars, and restaurants.
Festival Founder Frank Malfitano was quick to thank and praise Amazon Representatives and local, state and federal elected officials for bringing the festival back. “We couldn’t possibly be more grateful to NYS Assemblyman Al Stirpe, Onondaga County Executive J Ryan McMahon, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, US Senator Chuck Schumer and Amazon for co-sponsoring and bringing Syracuse Jazz Fest back to Downtown Syracuse this June.” Malfitano said, “I know we’re all thrilled to see this longtime Syracuse summertime tradition coming back, and that would simply not have been possible without Amazon’s support.”
“Syracuse Jazz Fest is a local, cultural touchstone, and as a company committed to reimagining how customers experience music, this partnership was a natural fit for us,” said Carley Graham Garcia, Head of Community Affairs, Amazon New York. “We’re thrilled to be part of the resumption of Syracuse Jazz Fest and excited to see it return to Downtown Syracuse.”
Syracuse Jazz Fest Exclusive urbancny.com Preview with Executive Director Frank Malfitano
Syracuse Jazz Fest Map
Syracuse Jazz Fest Schedule Links 3 Nights| 30 Bands | 20 Clubs
- Syracuse Jazz Fest Schedule & Club Hopping Guide
- Syracuse Jazz Fest Schedule|Thursday
- Syracuse Jazz Fest Schedule|Friday Clinton Square Main Stage
- Syracuse Jazz Fest Schedule|Saturday
Major Entertainment by National and International Bands
Average White Band
Average White Band, 50th Anniversary Edition Friday, June 24th 9:15 pm Regarded as one of the top Soul, R & B, and Jazz-Funk groups, and first known for the timeless instrumental hit Pick Up the Pieces, the band’s future would lie in its diverse songwriting and unique approach to rhythm & blues. With multiple gold & platinum albums and three Grammy nominations on the legendary Atlantic label, they were the first Brits to simultaneously top the US Top 100 Singles, Albums and R&B charts, before going on to similar UK and international honors.
Boney James
Boney James Saturday, June 25th 7:30 pm Sometimes, inspiration is slow in coming, evasive and stubborn. Other times, if an artist is very fortunate, it simply flows, the music practically writing itself. That’s how Solid (out on Concord Records, June 12, 2020) the latest release from four-time GRAMMY nominee Boney James came to be. The saxophonist/composer’s seventeenth album as a leader and the follow-up to his smash 2017 release Honestly—his eleventh #1 Billboard Contemporary Jazz Album—the new collection seemed to fall right into place.
David Sanborn
David Sanborn Friday, June 24th 7:30 pm Universally known as one of the most iconic saxophonists of the current age, David Sanborn is a jazz musician at heart, but has transcended genres and musical boundaries throughout his entire career.
Joey DeFrancesco Trio
Joey DeFrancesco Trio Saturday, June 25th 4:00 pm As he’s made it abundantly clear over the last 30 years, Joey DeFrancesco has plenty of soul. Raised in Philadelphia, where the foundation of his musical roots in Jazz, Blues and other musical art forms were born. Joey’s music embodies the traditional jazz art form infused with a distinct modern approach, that makes his music unmistakably his own.
Nathan Williams & The Zydeco Cha Cha’s
Nathan Williams & The Zydeco Cha Cha’s Saturday, June 25th 4:00 pm “I’m originally from St. Martinsville, Louisiana, where the crawfish got soul and the alligators sing the blues. We was 7 brothers and 1 sister. We all stayed together. I’m the baby. My daddy died when I was 7 years old. He was a construction worker, a heavy equipment operator. He used to be out of town a lot, paved a lot of streets and all that. It was a big loss not having my dad. Before my dad died, our house had burned down. I wasn’t born yet and after that they had to build a small house. But, my daddy was a veteran and momma would get a check for us. My momma played a big part in my life, and I learned all the French from my grandmother. God been so good to me.”
The Salt City Jazz Collective
The Salt City Jazz Collective Friday, June 24th • 4:00 pm The Salt City Jazz Collective (SCJC) is a 17-piece All-Star Big Band project that was formed in 1995 by a group of Syracuse University jazz educators and professors, who enlisted Syracuse-area jazz musicians/educators to join their ensemble
Sheila Jordon|Harvie S|Roni Ben-hur
Sheila Jordan • Harvie S • Roni Ben-Hur Friday, June 24th • 5:45 pm NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan is a legendary American jazz singer/songwriter from Detroit, who pioneered a bebop and scat jazz singing style using an upright bass as her only accompaniment. Jordan’s music has earned praise from many critics, particularly for her ability to improvise lyrics; Scott Yanow describes her as “one of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers.” Charlie Parker often introduced Jordan as “the singer with the million dollar ears.” In 1951, Jordan moved to New York City and studied harmony and music theory with Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus, but she concentrated on the music of Charlie Parker. Jordan and Parker became friends before his death in 1955
The Urban Knights
The Urban Knights Saturday, June 25th 5:45 pm The Urban Knights’ repertoire consists of jazz standards, jazz guitarist Henry Johnson’s original music and Ramsey Lewis classics like: Sun Goddess, The In Crowd, Wade In The Water, Tequila Mockingbird, Brazilica, Betcha By Golly Wow, Blues For The Night Owl and many more.
For more information, please visit the festival’s website at www.syracusejazzfest.com
