DOWNTOWN SYRACUSE – Headliners for the 37th edition of the National Grid Syracuse Jazz Festival include a ground-breaking jazz keyboardist and one of the most popular female vocalists of all time.
Legendary pianist and composer Herbie Hancock will appear on the Amazon Main Stage in Clinton Square at 9:15 p.m. Friday, June 23. Admission to all Jazz Fest events is free.
Hancock, 83, was a member of the pioneering Mile Davis Quintet before he forged a highly successful solo career with albums such as “Head Hunters,” “Rockit” and “Future Shock.”
Hancock has won 14 Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for his score for the film “Round Midnight.” His compositions include “Watermelon Man” and “Chameleon.” In 2016, the Chicago-born musician received the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Gladys Knight rose to fame in the early 1960s alongside her Atlanta-based group, The Pips. Billed since 1961 as Gladys Knight & The Pips, the combo scored Number One hits with “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
Knight will light up the Amazon Main Stage here at 9:15 p.m. Saturday, June 24.
Over the years, Knight has been nominated for 22 Grammys and won seven of them including a Best Gospel Performance trophy for her 2004 duet with Ray Charles, “Heaven Help Us All.”
Knight, who’s 79, refused to limit herself to singing. She also excelled as an actress in television programs such as “New York Undercover” and “Charlie & Co.” In 1999, she starred on Broadway in the smash musical “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”
All that work earned Knight a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and she and The Pips were inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame.
Tuba Skinny swings hot
While Hancock and Knight are familiar names, lesser-known performers will also impress Syracuse Jazz Fest audiences.
“This year’s festival is back to the programming level of Jazz Fests of yesteryear with superstar headliners and household names like Gladys Knight and Herbie Hancock, and terrific up-and-comers like Tuba Skinny from the streets of New Orleans,” said festival founder Frank Malfitano, who lives in Baldwinsville.
Tuba Skinny – those free-wheeling trad-jazz buskers – will swing like crazy at its main-stage set at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 24.
First formed shortly after Hurricane Katrina swept away much of the Crescent City, Tube Skinny’s eight core musicians came together after playing with bands such as the Dead Man Street Band.
While the band is a collective, Skinny’s de facto leader is well-bred lady cornetist Shaye Cohn who also plays piano and fiddle and orchestrates much of the music. Shaye’s the cog around which the entire ensemble swings like a pendulum.
The musicians are trombonist Barnabus Jones, banjoman Max Bien-Kahn, guitarist Greg Sherman, sousaphonist Todd Burdick, washboardist Robin Rapuzzi and vocalist Erika Lewis who doubles on bass drum.
A few years ago, sultry singer Erika Lewis relocated to North Carolina. She no longer regularly performs with Tuba Skinny, however she still joins the group for major festivals such as the Syracuse appearance.
“Joy, simplicity and ensemble. That’s the trifecta,” says Skinny washboard wizard Robin Rapuzzi. “The three ingredients for that special recipe we call hot music.”
Malfitano knows hot when he hears it.
“Back in the day people used to come to Jazz Fest all the time just to see the opening acts, and with good reason,” he said. “The festival affords us an opportunity to showcase some of the greatest young jazz artists on the planet. A major bonus for festivalgoers.”
National Grid Syracuse Jazz Fest Schedule
Thursday, June 22: 4-9 p.m., Hanover Square Outdoor Stage – Harri Stojka & Acoustic Drive, Something Else! (featuring Vincent Herring, James Carter, Randy Brecker, Paul Bollenback, Dave Kikowski, Jeff “Tain” Watts and Essiet Essiet)
Friday, June 23: 5:30-10:30 p.m., Clinton Square Outdoor Stage – Postmodern Jukebox, Tower of Power, Herbie Hancock
Saturday, June 24: 5:30-10:30 p.m., Clinton Square Outdoor Stage – Tuba Skinny, Spyro Gyra, Gladys Knight
Sunday, June 25: 12:30-4:30 p.m., Hendricks Chapel Syracuse University Campus – Gospel closing ceremonies featuring The Dillard University Gospel Choir of New Orleans; Syracusejazzfest.com.
