National Grid Syracuse Jazzfest 2023 gets underway Wednesday night at numerous clubs around the city … in what might be the biggest and most ambitious event in the festival’s four decades. Founder and organizer Frank Malfitano credits good turnout last year in a comeback event of sorts, both from a hiatus and from pandemic shutdowns. That allowed for enthusiasm from both sponsors and venues to cover 5 days in various formats. But Malfitano says headliners Herbie Hancock and Gladys Night, along with other national acts Spyro Gyra, Tower of Power and others actually want to play the event because of its long history.
“They wouldn't come if they didn't think it was a, a cool event. So the fact that legends and icons in our business, in the American music industry, in the jazz community, people like Gladys Knight and Herbie Hancock, the fact that they want to come in and play our festival is huge. What does that say about us? It says, we are a market you don't skip over.”
(Full Schedule of acts and venues here)
The main acts play in Cliton Square on Friday and Saturday nights. But the kickoff Wednesday night is an ode to local music. Malfitano says the full evening of artists at two dozen clubs around the city builds on what last year was an experiment of sorts.
“It was opening night, hugely successful. We had 18 clubs. All of them were packed all night long. And it was a pub crawl, you know, it was a nightclub crawl. You could bop from club to club, Club Hop and see four or five, six different bands. … And this year we had so much interest. We heard from so many clubs that wanted to host bands, and we heard from three times the number of bands we had last year.”
A new event in Hanover Square Thursday, he says, will have a different vibe than the big main stage in Clinton Square. And the event rounds out with a special Jazz meets Gospel Sunday at Hendricks Chapel. Malfitano wanted to exmapnd on the connection between gospel and jazz.
“We've had some local gospel groups over the years, but we haven't really been able to build it in. And the university gave us a wonderful opportunity here to have a standalone event for those fans of gospel, but also for those jazz fest attendees that want to go see what gospel's all about. There's a whole lot of folks that have never set foot inside of a black church and never heard real, true gospel. So this is a wonderful opportunity.”
How Jazzfest Helps Local Economy
Local tourism officials are helping spread the word. Visit SyracusePresident Danny Liedka says their research and resources are able to target likely audiences that might come from surrounding cities and states. And he’s happy to partner with what he sees as an important tool in the area’s economic growth.
“With Micron and Amazon moving into this area, quality of life's a big deal to them. Considering new employees, not only are they going to be locals, but they're going to bring people in (people) from afar, and things to do in their own time (is) super, super important to them. So, an event like Jazz Fest is something we can get behind. We can be proud of. Syracuse is clearly on the rise. This region is going in a great direction.”
Liedka notes last year’s Jazzfest in Syracuse was the fifth most visited event in the state that weekend. Malfitano wanted to create event that , in his words, is for people who know everything about jazz and people who know nothing about jazz.
Starting Wednesday night, the variety of music coupled with club events, small outdoor concerts and the large festival scene should appeal to many music fans. The full schedule is at SyracuseJazzfest.com.
WAER is a media sponsor of Jazzfest.
Syracuse Jazzfest Restrictions & Suggestions
According to City Parks & Special Events and SPD and SFD, the following are not permitted at Clinton Square and Hanover Square at the festival this weekend.
- No motor cycles allowed during outdoor performances
- No boom boxes or loud car stereo systems allowed during outdoor performances
- No grilling
- No coolers
- No kegs
- No weapons
- No fireworks
- No firecrackers
- No parking & no vehicles in Hanover Square on Thursday, June 22
- No parking and no vehicles in Clinton Square on June 23 and 24
- No tents
- No overnight camping
- No tarps or blankets; space is limited
- No pets without leashes and clean up baggies.
ALSO some suggestions:
- Seats for attendees and patrons will not be provided; bringing lawn chairs is recommended.
- Festival is ON - rain or shine; bringing umbrellas is suggested
- Yes, there will be food and beverages available and on sale at Clinton Square
- There will be large LED wall screens for viewing at each side of the Clinton Square Stage
- Printed programs are free and available at the Merch tent at Clinton Square
- Online schedules are available at www.syracusejazzfest.com
