Lineup

Anthony Hamilton

Anthony Hamilton’s voice gets better with time. With 17 Grammy nominations under his belt, he’s known for rich, soul-steeped vocals and emotion-packed lyrics. With a reputation as an “artist’s artist,” he’s collaborated with Dr. Dre, Keyshia Cole, Josh Turner, Santana and John Rich, to name a few.

This opening night concert features Carmelo Smith (guitar), Demarco Dickey (drums), Tony Witherspoon (keyboard), Lamont McCain (bass/music director), Jack King (background vocals), Courtney Campbell (background vocals) and Billy Crayton (background vocals) and is dedicated to Cuyahoga Community College President Alex Johnson as he retires at the end of June.

Thursday, June 23 | 8 p.m.
Music Hall, Cleveland Public Auditorium

Sean Jones Quartet

Music and spirituality have always been fully intertwined in the artistic vision of trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and activist Sean Jones. The native Northeast Ohioan is a Mack Avenue recording artist who served as lead trumpeter in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for six years before being tapped to become a member of the SFJAZZ Collective. A musical chameleon, he’s comfortable in any setting — no matter the role or genre.

His Cleveland performance features Jones (trumpet and leader), Allyn Johnson (piano), Endea Owens (bass) and Mark Whitfield Jr. (drums).

Friday, June 24 | 5 p.m.
Allen Theatre, Playhouse Square

Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas: Sound Prints

Grammy-winning saxophonist and composer Joe Lovano and two-time Grammy-nominated trumpeter Dave Douglas are both masters within the pantheon of modern jazz. When they debuted their Sound Prints quintet in 2013 it was in homage to Wayne Shorter’s risk-taking, fearlessly inventive spirit. “The whole concept of the band is dialogue and interaction,” Douglas notes. “And when you play that way, nobody can retreat into the role of their instrument. Everybody’s playing everything, all the time.” 

Sound Prints released their third full length album, Other Worlds with ten new compositions via Greenleaf Music on May 7, 2021. Band members include Rudy Royston (drums), Leo Genovese (piano) and Matt Penman (bass).

Friday, June 24 | 6:30 p.m.
Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square

Brian Culbertson

Margot Copeland Smooth Jazz Night

With a 20-album catalog and more than 30 Billboard No. 1 singles, multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson has charted his own unique course in music. Label his work as jazz, and he’ll make a funk record. Call him an R&B artist, and he’ll drop an acoustic jazz trio collection. Regardless, you’d be hard pressed to name another instrumentalist of his ilk capable of mounting such an elaborately designed concert production.

Band members include:

Marcus Anderson (sax, vocals), Marqueal Jordan (sax, vocals, percussion), Eddie Miller (keyboards, vocals), Christopher Miskel (drums), Rashawn Northington (bass), Michael Stewart (trumpet) and Harold Taylor (guitar).

Friday, June 24 | 8 p.m.
Connor Palace, Playhouse Square

Ghost-Note

Headed by Snarky Puppy’s multi-Grammy-winning percussion duo, Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth, Ghost-Note is an explosion of sound. With an expansive roster of next-level musicians, the band pushes funk into the future — building on the pioneering foundations laid out by the likes of James Brown and Sly & The Family Stone and infusing their fresh take with tastes of afrobeat, hip-hop, psychedelia and more.

Friday, June 24 | 9:30 p.m.
Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square

Cyrille Aimée/Dominick Farinacci

Improvisation isn’t just a technique for Grammy-nominated French artist Cyrille Aimée — it’s a way of life. With her winsome charm and supple voice, she incorporates buoyant swing with Brazilian music and gypsy jazz. Winner of the Montreux Jazz Festival vocal competition and the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition, she has been called a “rising star in the galaxy of jazz singers” by The New York Times.

Her current band consists of Aimée (vocals and looper), Pedro Segundo (drums), Lex Warshawsky (bass), Dave Torkanowsky (piano) and Michael Valeanu (guitar).

Opening the show is trumpeter Dominick Farinacci and Triad. With Christian Tamburr (marimba/vibraphone), Shenel Johns (vocals), Jamey Haddad (percussion) and Michael Ward-Bergeman (accordion), Triad weaves together music that runs the gamut, from Kurt Veil to John Mayer, and Astor Piazzolla to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

Saturday, June 25 | 2 p.m.
Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square

Raul Midón

“Midón has a beautifully controlled baritone that can express anything from tenderness to passion. And the guy can play.” -The Guardian

Blind since birth, Grammy-nominated (Best Vocal Jazz Album for his past two Mack Avenue releases), Raul Midón displays borderless interpretations of his surroundings. Dubbed “an eclectic adventurist” by People magazine, he has collaborated with such heroes as Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers, along with contributing to recordings by Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg and the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s She Hate Me. Midón has earned acclaim the world over, with a fanbase that stretches from San Francisco to India, Amsterdam to Tokyo.

Saturday, June 25 | 4:30 p.m.
Allen Theatre, Playhouse Square

Eddie Palmieri

Known as one of the finest pianists of the past 60 years, Eddie Palmieri is a bandleader, arranger and composer of salsa and Latin jazz. His playing skillfully fuses the rhythm of his Puerto Rican heritage with the complexity of his jazz influences: Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and his older brother, Charlie. Palmieri’s professional career took off in the early 1950s with popular orchestras led by Eddie Forrester, Johnny Segui, Tito Rodriguez and others.

In 1961, Palmieri formed his own band, La Perfecta, which featured an unconventional front line of trombones rather than the customary trumpets. This created an innovative sound that mixed American jazz into Afro-Caribbean rhythms, surprising critics and fans alike. More recently, Palmieri received the coveted Jazz Masters award from the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest honor bestowed upon American jazz artists.

Band members include:

Palmieri (leader, piano), Luques Curtis (bass), Luis Quintero (timbales), Vicente Rivero (congas), Jonathan Powell (trumpet), Louis Fouche (alto saxophone).

Saturday, June 25 | 6:15 p.m.
Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square

Tri-C JazzFest All-Star Big Band Under the Direction of John Clayton with Special Guest John Pizzarelli/Kenny Werner and Grégoire Maret Centennial Tribute to Toots Thielemans

Bassist, composer, arranger and producer John Clayton has performed alongside artists such as Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Gladys Knight. With a Grammy on his shelf and nine additional nominations, his career highlights include arranging “The Star Spangled Banner" for Whitney Houston's 1990 Super Bowl performance (the recording of which went platinum), playing bass on Paul McCartney's Kisses on the Bottom, and arranging and playing bass with Yo-Yo Ma and Friends on Songs of Joy & Peace. As co-founder of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, he’s more than equipped to lead an all-star big band at the festival.

Performing with Clayton and his band is world-renowned guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli. A prime contemporary interpreter of the Great American Songbook and beyond, his repertoire includes Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim and the Beatles. The son of the late, great Bucky Pizzarelli, he’s been hailed by The Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.”

Pianist Kenny Werner and Grégoire Maret will open the concert with “Between a Smile and a Tear,” a centennial tribute to Werner’s longtime employer, Toots Thielemans. The ever lyrical but unpredictable Werner has created a moving duo tribute with Maret, Toot’s heir apparent as the most creative and soulful harmonica player in jazz today.

All-Star personnel:

Isaiah Thompson, piano
Rodney Whitaker, bass
Ulysses Owens, Jr, drums
Randy Napolean, guitar
Reeds: Dick Oatts, Rickey Woodard, Dave Sterner, Chris Coles, Sean Wallace
Trumpets: Bijon Watson, Tanya Darby, Sean Jones, Dominick Farinacci
Trombones: Mark Mauldin, Sam Blakeslee, Caleb Smith, Julianna Gralle

Saturday, June 25 | 8:15 p.m.
Connor Palace, Playhouse Square