Northwest Jazz Festival Announces Lineup For 2017

NORTHWEST JAZZ FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR 2017

Northwest Jazz Festival introduces Friday and Saturday night headliners and 30 live performances over a two-day period

Buffalo (4/3/17):  The 16^th annual Northwest Jazz Festival in Lewiston, NY (formerly known as the Lewiston Jazz Festival), scheduled for August 25 and 26 of 2017, announced its jazz artist line-up at the Taste of Jazz Fundraiser on April 2^nd.  30 live performances are scheduled for the 2-day festival across 5 stages throughout the heart of Lewiston, NY.  Including headliners on Friday and Saturday nights and the introduction of a thematic approach to various stages.

The two headliners announced are the Dave Stryker Quintet with Eric Alexander on Friday night, August 25 and The Hot Sardines on Saturday night, August 26.  Dave Stryker, the former sideman guitarist for Stanley Turrentine, was recently voted once again into the 2016 Downbeat Readers and Critics Polls. His latest CD “Eight Track II”, in which Eight Track I and II take hits of the 1970's 8-Track era and arrange into organ-based jazz tunes, has spent 20 weeks on the JazzWeek radio chart and was voted a Top CD of 2016 (4 Stars) in Downbeat.  Eric Alexander is also voted into the 2016 Downbeat Readers and Critics Poll and is considered one of the top tenor saxophonist in the jazz scene today.  The quintet will also feature Hammond B3 jazz artist Jared Gold and Steve Nelson on vibraphone.  Both in the top 5 in their categories of the 2016 Downbeat Readers and Critics Poll.  Here are two clips featuring the Dave Stryker 8 Track project performing Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man and a tribute to Stanley Turrentine with Eric Alexander: 

The Hot Sardines are an ensemble determined to make early 20th-century music in the style of Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong modern again.  Highly praised throughout festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival, they bring an entertaining style to vintage jazz.  Vocalist Elizabeth Bougeral is the frontwoman for the band and the ensemble features a total of 8 members.  Here are the Hot Sardines performing one of their classic tunes:

Artist Line-Up

The Northwest Jazz Festival is pleased to present its 2017 line-up, which will include the introduction of new themes for two of its 5 stages and a diverse presentation of various jazz styles.  The line-up by stage are:

 The Main Stage

Opening the festival on the Main Stage will be the Buffalo Jazz Octet, led by the notable composer, arranger, and jazz pianist Michael McNeil.  An ensemble called "…a veritable who’s who list of killer regional jazz players…" by the Buffalo News, will perform at 5 pm on Friday, August 25.  The Friday Headliner, Dave Stryker Quintet with Eric Alexander, will follow at 8:30 pm.

On Saturday, the Main Stage will feature 3 performances preceding the Saturday, Headliner, The Hot Sardines, who will perform at 8:30 pm.  Performances will include:

• The Ernie Krivda Quartet, which will feature the legendary Cleveland-based saxophonist, whose latest CD Requiem For A Jazz Lady, has been widely heralded. In 2009 Ernie Krivda received the Cleveland Arts Prize award for lifetime achievement in music.  Krivda has appeared in the Detroit jazz Festival and the Chicago Jazz Festival multiple times.  Krivda will appear with George Caldwell, Danny Ziemann, and John Bacon, Jr.  
• The afternoon will also feature the international jazz trio, the Philippe Lemm Trio. The trio has toured extensively in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and in New York City, performing original compositions from their new CD, New Amsterdam.   The trio will feature the rising stars pianist Angelo Di Loreto and bassist Jeff Koch.  The prolific drummer Philippe Lemm has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center DC, Concert Gebouw, Bimhuis in Amsterdam, and the North Sea Jazz Festival.
• Performing later in the afternoon will be the New York City-based composer, arranger, and trumpeter Wayne Tucker and his quartet, which will also feature Israeli jazz pianist Hila Kulik, who has performed with Donald Harrison and Bria Skonberg. The quartet will also feature notable New York City jazz artists Tamir Shmerling on bass and Jonathan Pinson on drums. The jazz trumpeter’s most recent CD, When I Was A Child, has been widely acclaimed.  Tucker has played with many of today's current Jazz stars including Kurt Elling, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Cyrille Aimee, and Pop stars like Taylor Swift and Elvis Costello. 

Clips follow for Ernie Krivda, the Philippe Lemm Trio, and from Wayne Tucker’s acclaimed When I Was A Child project: 

The Rising Stars Stage

The Rising Stars Stage will feature a collection of youth and up and coming jazz attractions to include:

• The locally popular band, The TRUTH will feature a youthful collective of jazz/funk/fusion music performers.
• Coming from New York City will be the Young Lions of New York led by trumpeter John Hasselback, III and feature a quintet of rising stars in the New York City straight-ahead jazz scene
• The Jacob Jay Quintet featuring trumpeter Jacob Jay and vocalist Shaun Doyle will perform a collection of original compositions and tunes from the Great American Songbook
• The Buffalo Brass Machine, an 8-piece ensemble with roots to the University of Buffalo and performing regionally in Toronto, Rochester, Cleveland, Saratoga, and Detroit, will perform their unique brand of traditional New Orleans style street jazz
• Pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and former Be Arthur band leader Mark Marinaccio, will lead an 8-piece ensemble performing contemporary original jazz
• The BluJazz label artists, Walter Kemp 3oh!, will take the stage in the evening and perform music from their widely-acclaimed CD, Dark Continent. The CD is receiving airplay nationally and the group has performed in Toronto, New York City, and Philadelphia. 

Here is a tune from the Walter Kemp 3oh! BluJazz Dark Continent project:

The DiCamillo Courtyard Stage – Women In Jazz

The courtyard stage will introduce a Women in Jazz theme this year and feature a collection of local female jazz vocalists with a range of styles to include the Great American Songbook, R&B, and Indie Jazz.  The Women in Jazz line-up will present some of the area’s finest female jazz vocalists to include:

• Barbara Levy Daniels
• Einat Agmon
• Becky Davis
• Katy Miner
• Sharon Bailey
• Janice Mitchell

Here is Becky Davis with a beautiful rendition of It Was Just One Of Those Things:

The Frontier House Stage – Groove Station

The Frontier House porch, located in the middle of Center Street, will present a line-up of jazz in the “organ groove” style consisting of organ-based, guitar, and sax jazz made popular by the likes of Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, and Dr. Lonnie Smith.  Scheduled to perform are:

• Fronstreet Men Organ Trio, led by Dave Pinchoff, will perform music from their debut CD
• The local jazz gospel artist and icon Brotha Perry Trio
• Ron Davis Combo featuring 2 Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductees Ron Davis and Doug Morgano
• The Doug Gaston Quartet featuring the highly-admired jazz pianist Doug “Trigger” Gaston (performed with Frank Foster and Clifford Jordan) and saxophonist Bilal Abdullah
• The popular organ trio and Rochester-based Paradigm Shift featuring Melvin Henderson (guitarist with Jack McDuff and Dr. Lonnie Smith) and organist Gerry Youngman
• Devin Kelly Organ Trio featuring top jazz organist Dino Losito (Blue Note and Birdland performances) on organ and Eastman Professor Bob Schneider on guitar led by drummer Devin Kelly (performed with Clark Terry and at The Blue Note in NYC) as they perform music from their first CD and a new CD to be released this year.

Here is a clip from the Devin Kelly Organ Trio’s First Things First CD project: 

The Peace Garden Stage

The Peace Garden will feature unique jazz befitting the name of this stage.  Performers will include:

• The Frank Gerard/ Ray Chamberlain Quartet with Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee Ray Chamberlain and long-time “teacher” of Buffalo area guitarists, Frank Gerard
• The Joe Brancato/Dave Schiavone Quartet performing music from their acclaimed CD, Hidden Treasure
• trioPayazzo featuring unique horns and guitar arrangements with Andy Peruzzini, Bernard Kunz, and Harry Fackleman
• The improvisational jazz group Why Not? led by pianist Kevin Doyle and featuring trumpeter Tim Clarke
• The popular jazz noir trio, in the tradition of Les Paul and Mary Ford, Carina and the Six String Preacher featuring jazz vocalist Carina Mastrantonio
• The area’s premier gypsy jazz band – The Hot Club of Buffalo – who will perform music from their upcoming CD release in April.

Here are two clips featuring Carina and the Six String Preacher and a tune from the Joe Brancato/Dave Schiavone Quartet:

The festival kicks off on Friday, August 25^th at 5 pm rain or shine.  An exciting 2-day event as one of the area’s best regional festival of its kind.  For more information and to follow the festival developments, please visit the Northwest Jazz Festival website at www.lewistonjazz.com