Photography by Ironglass Productions
It’s that exciting time of year in Saratoga when, though snow blankets the ground and we’ve all but forgotten what it feels like to be warm, Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) starts announcing its summer programming. Up first: the 49th annual Saratoga Jazz Festival, returning on June 27 and 28.
“As we approach nearly 50 years of this storied festival, we remain committed to presenting a vibrant, wide-ranging line-up that honors jazz traditions while amplifying bold new voices,” says Elizabeth Sobol, chief executive officer of SPAC. “From legendary performers and centennial celebrations to festival debuts and cutting-edge artists, this year’s Saratoga Jazz Festival offers so much to discover.”
For jazz fans, the two-day, two-stage, 22-performance festival will feature a Who’s Who of rising stars and industry titans, from rock-and-blues artist Eddie 9V and New Orleans–inspired brass ensemble Brass Queens, to “Godmother of Soul” Patti LaBelle, who’ll make her long-awaited return to the festival to perform pieces from her early days with The Bluebelles as well as songs from her iconic solo catalog, like “Lady Marmalade.” While LaBelle will headline Saturday’s lineup, Jazz Fest newcomers The Revivalists, an eight-piece New Orleans rock collective you probably know as the band behind the hit song “Wish I Knew You,” will round out the weekend as Sunday’s headlining act.
Other standout acts will include Grammy-winning blues guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, vintage soul revivalists The Dip, and Cécile McLorin Salvant, a three-time Grammy winner The New York Times called “the finest jazz singer to emerge in the last decade.” The weekend will also celebrate both the centennials of Miles Davis (his nephew’s band, Miles Electric Band, will perform in a tribute to the late legend Saturday on the amphitheater stage) and John Coltrane, who will be memorialized by the Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars on the Charles R. Wood Discovery Stage on Sunday.
In addition to the music, Jazz Fest will also feature a fine arts and crafts fair, new and diverse food offerings, and lawn games. Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drinks, lawn chairs, tents, and umbrellas. Performances begin at 11am on Saturday and 11:45am on Sunday. Tickets go on sale February 6 at 10am to SPAC members and February 13 at 10am for the general public. See below for the full two-day Jazz Festival lineup.
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
Amphitheater:
Patti LaBelle
Miles Electric Band: Celebrating Miles Davis’s Centennial
Cécile McLorin Salvant
The Dip
Gonzalo Rubalcaba First Meeting Quartet with Chris Potter, Larry Grenadier & Eric Harland
Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science
Charles R. Wood “Discovery” Stage:
Bill Frisell Trio featuring Thomas Morgan & Rudy Royston with special guest Gregory Tardy
Orrin Evans Trio featuring Luques Curtis & Mark Whitfield, Jr.
Tyreek McDole
Ana Popovic
Avishai Cohen Big Vicious
Brass Queens
SUNDAY, JUNE 28
Amphitheater:
The Revivalists
Dianne Reeves
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Cimafunk
Lakecia Benjamin
Charles R. Wood “Discovery” Stage:
Eddie 9V
Alexa Tarantino Quartet
Kyle Roussel
Sasha Dobson
Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars
