The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
A familiar tune
Tri-C JazzFest finally back at Playhouse Square
There’s no place like home.
That’s exactly what Tri-C JazzFest Director Terri Pontremoli is feeling these days, as the 43rd annual popular music affair returns June 23 through 25 in and around Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland.
Before talking about this year’s event, Pontremoli relived the last two years, which began with a virtual presentation followed by a road-trip festival held at Cain Park.
“There are so many cool things about what happened over the last couple of years,” Pontremoli said. “In the face of being served up lemons, we made lemonade. Doing the virtual thing was great. We presented Cleveland’s jazz musician to the world and 75,000 people — many from different countries — checked it out.
“Then, last year was such an experiment, with a lot of young musicians who didn’t have well-known names but are going to be giants in our music as they age. When we surveyed people, they totally liked the Cain Park experience, but they also made it clear that they really liked the Playhouse Square experience, as well.”
The 2022 lineup features several ticketed concerts in various Playhouse Square theaters. However, June 23’s opening-night concert — dedicated to retiring TriC President Alex Johnson —
was set to feature Anthony Hamilton at Cleveland Public Auditorium’s Music Hall.
“There’s also a lot of jazz
going on Friday and Saturday with ticketed concerts inside and free concerts outside,” Pontremoli said.
Other festival highlights include homecoming concerts
by native Clevelanders Joe Lovano and Sean Jones, as well as performances by vocalist Cyrille Aimée and legendary pianist Eddie Palmieri.
Closing the outdoor performance schedule will be Lorain’s Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta, performing from 10:30 p.m. to midnight on the Euclid Avenue stage.
The other aspect of the Tri-C JazzFest involves bringing music, food and dancing to Euclid Avenue with food trucks, vendors, street performers, games and, of course, dancing under the chandelier.
“We’re adding a Next Generation Stage outside this year,” Pontremoli
said. “That’s brand new and will feature young people, young artists, students — many of whom actually went through our program here and have gone on to schools across the country.
“We’re also going to have a Jazz Kitchen that will be where people are cooking recipes and doing food demonstrations — but they’ll do them with the help of musicians that we stick in there. There will also be a talk tent in there, so it’s like your kitchen at home where people go to talk, eat and be kind of informal.”
While chatting with Pontremoli, it’s obvious she’s champing at the bit regarding this year’s Tri-C JazzFest.
“It is truly great — there’s no question about it,” Pontremoli said.
“It does feel normal and great to see the crowds that will come and enjoy music and dance under the chandelier. We’re excited about that. It is a homecoming, it really is.”
“It does feel normal and great to see the crowds that will come and enjoy music and dance under the chandelier. We’re excited about that. It is a homecoming, it really is.” — Tri-C JazzFest Director Terri Pontremoli