Outdoor Stage Lineup Announced for Tri-C JazzFest

Fourteen bands selected to perform June 23-24 at Playhouse Square

Some of Northeast Ohio’s best musicians will provide nearly 24 hours of live entertainment during the 44^th annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, presented by KeyBank.

The 14 exciting and varied acts promise to keep the music pumping from the Strassman Insurance Stage at Euclid Avenue and East 14^th Street. The free outdoor performances will run 3 p.m. to midnight June 23-24 when Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland overtakes Playhouse Square.

A committee of music industry professionals vetted nearly 100 bands for the lineup. The chosen artists represent a variety of genres, including jazz, funk, samba, reggae and pop.

“We’re excited to showcase artists from the region,” said Terri Pontremoli, director of Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland. “Their music really adds to the global celebration of this summer’s festival, and the William M. Weiss Foundation Next Gen Stage will highlight young people and the jazz continuum right here in Cleveland.”

Look for the following acts, listed by the day of the performance. A full schedule with performance times is available on the Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland website. The schedule is subject to change.
 
Friday, June 23

• Reggie Kelly: Reggie Kelly headlines at premier jazz rooms, festivals and concert halls. He opened for Najee at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica and Angie Stone at House of Blues. His repertoire includes fresh arrangements of the Great American Songbook and familiar jazz classics.
• Ernie Krivda and the Fat Tuesday Big Band: Ernie Krivda is one of Cleveland's most accomplished, awarded and well-known jazz artists. This 19-piece group and its legendary frontman have earned a reputation as one of the region's hardest-swinging big bands.
• David Gulley and the Cleveland Chorale: David Gulley has traveled throughout Europe singing and playing with Gospel Connection. The Cleveland Chorale features singers from several area churches and appears in special presentations all over Northeast Ohio.
• Ronell Regis: Ronell Regis is a saxophonist and composer hailing from the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York. His musical compositions reflect the uplifting music of the island of Grenada, West Indies.
• Samba da Cidade: The Cleveland-based samba school was formed to unite the community around music during the pandemic. The group performs samba from Brazil as well as other popular rhythms from South America and abroad.
• CB4: The members of CB4 (Christopher Burge, David Thomas, Kip Reed and Reggie Jackson) regularly perform as sidemen to the best artists in the region. The quartet plays melodic, groove-oriented and highly personal interpretations of the Great American Songbook, jazz, world and pop standards, as well as originals.
• Carlos Jones and the P.L.U.S. Band: Carlos Jones has been entertaining audiences for over 35 years, first as a member of the reggae group I-Tal and then with the legendary First Light before pursuing a solo career with his current group, the P.L.U.S. Band (Peace Love Unity Syndicate). The group brings a brand of high-energy reggae to its shows.

Saturday, June 24

• Thomas Schinabeck: Thomas Schinabeck is an alumnus of the Tri-C JazzFest Academy and attends the Peabody Institute, studying with the likes of Sean Jones and Quincy Phillips. The band will play Schinabeck’s original compositions with some of the best musicians in Cleveland and his peers at Peabody.
• Cleveland Jazz Orchestra: The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra (CJO) has been Northeast Ohio’s premier jazz voice since 1985. Led by award-winning composer and trombonist Paul Ferguson, the CJO presents "the best jazz you've ever heard and the best jazz you've never heard."
• Da Land Brass Band: Da Land Brass Band was formed in 2016 under the leadership of William C. Washington, Kyle Sherepita, Nathan Hestley and Liam Smith. This versatile band features a modern take on New Orleans street bands with high-energy funk.
• Tommy Lehman: Trumpeter Tommy Lehman is a graduate of the Tri-C Jazz Studies program and has played professionally in Northeast Ohio for the last 10 years, regularly recording and touring with Nathan-Paul Davis, Chris Coles, Nine Lives Project, Bassel and Dan Wilson. He released an EP entitled Uplift, which features a quartet with SmokeFace, Gabe Jones and Andru Senpai.
• Nathan-Paul & The Admirables: The Admirables is a funky soul band based out of Akron. Frontman Nathan-Paul Davis encourages the crowd to get up and dance until they drop.
• Becky Boyd & the Groove Train: Becky Boyd has been playing the Cleveland club scene for over 40 years. The group consists of Boyd on vocals, Jim Wall on drums, Alfredo Guerrieri on bass and Chris Hanna on keyboards.
• Sammy DeLeon y Su Orquesta: Sammy de León is one of the most recognized Latin bandleaders in Northern Ohio. For the past decade, he has fronted the Sammy De León y su Orquesta, playing a spectrum of dance music styles and sustaining a multicultural audience.

The free performances on the outdoor main stage are made possible with support from the George Gund Foundation and Strassman Insurance Services.

Other free outdoor activities at the festival include the Kids Club; Jazz Kitchen with cooking demonstrations and artist interviews; food trucks and vendors; strolling musicians and street performers; games; and shopping.

Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland also features eight ticketed concerts at Music Hall in Public Auditorium and in Playhouse Square’s historic theaters. Headliners include Herbie Hancock, Trombone Shorty, Angelique Kidjo, Christian McBride, Gerald Albright and more.

For a full roster of events — including free community concerts in the months leading up to the festival — visit the Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland webpage.

Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, presented by KeyBank, is made possible by KeyBank, the George Gund Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the William M. Weiss Foundation and a growing list of donors and vendors.

May 12, 2023

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu