The huge names are coming back out for the 33rd edition M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest on July 17 and 18 on the campus of Onondaga Community College.
Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, will make her encore appearance at the free-admission fest to close the entertainment on the Saturday night of the weekend.
Wynton Marsalis will bring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra back to the stage on the opening Friday night. And that impressive collective will be joined by a co-headliner, the rousing Louisiana dance sounds of another favorite, Buckwheat Zydeco.
Founder and executive director Frank Malfitano and a handful of representatives from significant sponsors revealed the lineup at a news conference this morning in the lobby of the title sponsor bank on South Salina Street.
"I'm thrilled," Malfitano said in an interview after the conference. "The support. The lineup. It's a huge year. I do hope the media goes out now and makes it known, helps spread the word about this lineup, because this festival can help with the economic comeback."
Also performing on July 17 will be the City of Syracuse Parks and Rec All-Star Band, and AppleJazz! The all-star band is a collection of top scholastic musicians from Syracuse high schools. AppleJazz! is the band led by trumpeter Charlie Bertini named for the festival the native of Cortland County stages each June in Little York. The band of Central New York professional stars, which also will be making its festival encore, also will include vocalist Ronnie Leigh and Joe Whiting, guitarist and keyboardist Mark Doyle, bassist Ronnie France and drummer Dave Hanlon.
Also on the stage on July 18 will be co-headiner Lake Street Dive, an indie band from Brooklyn that fuses jazz, pop and soul that Rolling Stone calls its "best new band." That's a good match for Franklin, which the magazine calls "the greatest singer of all time." Also performing that night will be Central New York all-star group Notified and professional ensemble The Upstate Burners. Notified, which was recognized by WSYR-9's Carrie Lazarus on her show, includes students Dunham Hall, Sam Smith, Scottie Madonia, Dave Millen and Rich Bostick. The Upstate Burners feature national baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan and trumpeter Greg Gisbert, along with legendary Cortland jazz drummer Danny D’Imperio, Auburn upright bassist Peter Mack and Manlius pianist Andrew Carroll.
"The best way to showcase the vibrancy of Central New York talent is all-star groups," Malfitano said.
Malfitano said his theme is "Superstars, shooting stars and rising stars."
Franklin, who headlined Jazz Fest's huge 25th-anniversary show at OCC, has won 18 Grammy Awards. Her set is scheduled to begin around 9:30 p.m. July 18. I saw her appear with this year's earnest crop of singers two weeks ago on "American Idol," sharing her knowledge with them in her hometown Detroit, and the Queen of Soul looked strong.
Marsalis, a trumpet player of note as well as a band leader, brought the orchestra from the Manhattan jazz center he directs to the Syracuse festival in 2001. In 1997, he became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize, for his oratorio "Blood on the Fields." He's a member of the first family of New Orleans jazz, son of Ellis Marsalis Jr. and brother of Branford, Delfeayo and Jason.
Mark Gummer, past president of the fest board, announced at the start of the conference that the board signed Malfitano to a three-year contract to continue as executive director of the festival he founded.
"Frank is Jazz Fest," Gummer said. "His driving passion has kept this thing going the last three years. When there wasn't enough money, Frank paid the bills out of his own pocket if he had to."
Title sponsor M&T Bank, media sponsor WSYR-9 and main stage sponsorNational Grid also have signed contracts that extend partnerships through the 35th season, officials announced.
"In Onondaga County. we have to support events like Jazz Fest because that's the economic engine we use to fund the government," said County Executive Joanie Mahoney. "The people that come to the festival from all over the country, that's a great way to fund the government."
Malfitano said he spent more last year for this lineup to convince sponsors to sign three-year contracts, and because the headliners are all No. 1 in their genre. He would not reveal the budget. He said he still needs to raise $30,000 to reach his goal.
He said he'll think about a 36th season after the 35th. "Ask me in three years," Malfitano said.
And for now, he added, he's thinking about convincing the public sector, including the county legislature, to fund the fest again next year, following the private sector's pledge.
Scholastic band Notified performed before and after the conference.