Acclaimed producer part of SPAC fest
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » On the heels receiving the National Endowment for the Arts’ Jazz Masters fellowship award, acclaimed jazz producer Todd Barkan has been added to the 41st annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival lineup.
With his new Jazz Master title, the highest honor the U.S. bestows on jazz artists, Barkan will join the 2018 Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival as the featured host and D.J. broadcasting live from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center amphitheater.
In his two D.J. sessions, Barkan will be spinning vinyl from classic jazz artists featured in the first five years of the Saratoga Jazz Festival, 1978 through 1982.
Last week Barkan was inducted into the 2018 class of NEA Jazz Masters, which also honored pianist Joanne Brackeen, singer Dianne Reeves and guitarist Pat Metheny, receiving the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy for his decades as a Grammy-winning producer.
For more than 40 years, Barkan has distinguished himself as one of the world’s outstanding jazz concert and record producers. From his early work as the owner, manager and programmer of the legendary San Francisco jazz club, Keystone Korner to his most recent activity as a producer, Barkan has developed an international reputation as one of the highest quality and most effective jazz producers on the current scene.
“Our jazz festival fans have urged us to bring back ‘classic jazz’ artists from the early days of the festival’s inception – dating back to 1978. While many of those artists are no longer living or touring, we are delighted to have the opportunity to host legendary jazz producer and advocate Todd Barkan on our stage. Barkan, the authority on classic jazz, will pay homage to artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck, infused with his one-of-akind commentary and storytelling,” said Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC’s president and CEO, in a press release.
“Todd Barkan is one of the all-time legendary forces in jazz presentation and advocacy,” added Danny Melnick, the festival producer and president of Absolutely Live Entertainment. “I am blessed to call him a mentor, colleague and friend, and he rightly earned the NEA Jazz Master honor that was bestowed upon him on Monday night.”
Barkan will join the 2018 Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, the fifth longest-consecutiverunning jazz festival in North America, featuring fellow NEA Jazz Master Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, Chris Botti, Gregory Porter, Joey Alexander, and gospel and R&B legend Mavis Staples -- and emerging artists making their Saratoga debuts such as José James, Lakecia Benjamin and SoulSquad, Scott Sharrard & The Brickyard Band, Jazzmeia Horn and Keyon Harrold. In addition, unique collaborations and ensembles never-before-seen at the festival will take center stage including the Saratoga debut by TEN, which features Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding and Nicholas Payton.
Slated for June 23 and 24 at SPAC, Barkan will broadcast from the amphitheater apron starting at 10 a.m. when the gates open until approximately 1:30 p.m. on both days. Live performances will begin at 11 a.m. on the newly built Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage, formerly known as the Gazebo Stage, and at 3 p.m. on the amphitheater stage.
With an inside seating capacity of 5,200, and lawn seating of 20,000, the two-day, two-stage festival continues to be one of the largest jazz music events in North America, beloved by audiences for both the remarkable annual lineup of international jazz talent and the setting at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in the idyllic Saratoga Spa State Park.
Tickets for the festival are available online at www.spac.org. Back by popular demand are $20 amphitheater ticket options for children ages 15 and younger as well as students with school-issued ID at time of entrance. This seating is best available with some exclusions. Lawn seating is free for children ages 15 and younger.