SACRED SPACE

Euclid native Joe Lovano will livestream from famed New York jazz spot Village Vanguard

Since it opened in 1935, New York City’s Village Vanguard has been hallowed ground for jazz artists from around the world. That includes Cleveland jazz tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, who during the pandemic has dreamed about performing his first gig outside his upstate New York home. That opportunity takes place this weekend when Lovano’s “Trio Fascination” — featuring Ben Street (bass) and Andrew Cyrille (drums) — will be livestreamed at 7 p.m. July 3 and 2 p.m. July 5 from Village Vanguard. Tickets are required at villagevanguard.com. “It’s a pretty incredible period we’re all going through on the whole planet,” said Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, composer and producer Lovano, 67. “Right now, it’s not so much what I’m playing, but how I’m playing — trying to reach out and play with the compositions that are being formed during this pandemic period and the Black Lives Matter continuation that’s been going on since forever. “A lot of people are starting to wake up to a lot of things, so the music is becoming — for me and, hopefully, for others — a more spiritual, deeper thing. Now it’s about playing music that touches people and makes people think about humanity, gratitude, compassion and love — which all of the cats in the ‘60s did.” The Euclid native remembers living through the 1966 Hough riots in Cleveland. He said all the clubs his tenor-player father, Tony (aka Big T), played were gone overnight. Today, it’s the pandemic closing clubs that Lovano worries may never open again. He said his entire year — 150 concerts — has been moved to 2021. As for the upcoming Village Vanguard livestream, Lovano noted he’ll run through a composed set of original compositions, a few famous tunes and new things he’s written during the pandemic. Even though he’s played the Village Vanguard many times before, Lovano can’t help but remember back to when arriving in New York City as an unknown kid from Cleveland he made the legendary club his first stop. It’s there he found his people, his sound and his faith. So even if he won’t be returning to Northeast Ohio anytime soon, he will be in a major way getting to go back home to his jazz epicenter to relive a magical feeling. from Cleveland — throughout the years “During the ‘60s, those guys on that stage projected the most beautiful, spiritual love and music that set the pace for everything that’s going on for me today. To address an audience from that stage again will be an amazing spiritual encounter for me.”

“Now it’s about playing music that touches people and makes people think about humanity, gratitude, compassion and love.” — Joe Lovano, jazz musician

“When you’re in church, there’s a preacher preaching, but there’s also a congregation — and everybody is a part of it,” Lovano said. “That’s the roots of the music. To get really deep inside of some soul music — that’s what I’m talking about. I’m very excited to play again on that stage that’s been the altar of these incredible preachers — John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders and Albert Ayler, who is

JIMMY KATZ Euclid native Joe Lovano, who is at his home in upstate New York, doesn’t know when he’ll again be able to visit Northeast Ohio.

CRAIG LOVELL Jazz tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano’s “Trio Fascination” will be livestreamed at 7p.m. July 3and 2p.m. July 5from Village Vanguard in New York.