CLEVELAND, Ohio - The is a regional institution with a national reputation for excellence. For 45 years, jazz festival has brought jazz and music icons, legends, future legends, local luminaries and fans to theaters and stages around in Cleveland. The list of the iconic and innovative musicians who have performed in Cleveland for JazzFest include legendary singers Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Dianne Reeves and 2023 Best New Artist Grammy winner Samara Joy.
There have been many legendary and influential instrumentalists and bands, too -- Sun Ra, Buddy Guy to David Sanborn, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, George Benson, Tower of Power, even hip genre-melding pianist Robert Glasper. Back in the proverbial “day,” the festival was spread out across 10 days of concerts and activities. And, though those festivals had plenty of live music.
Around 2015, the festival pivoted to the current format, which allows area music fans to satiate their jazz and other genres jones in one action-packed music-filled weekend, this year taking place June 20-22 indoors and outdoors at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Festival director Terri Pontremoli believes the current format is easier for everyone. “I’m so glad that we do it this way because it is much more of an event for jazz lovers who live in the region to just take a weekend and drive to Cleveland and take advantage of the things that we have in Cleveland and see a really pretty terrific festival at the same time,” Pontremoli s.