If the 2014 Syracuse M&T Jazz Fest was a tribute to the past and future with Trombone Shorty and B.B. King bookending the theme, the 2015 edition’s theme offers one for the ladies.
Aretha Franklin, the undisputed queen of soul who is No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s list of Top 100 Greatest Singers, will reign on Saturday, July 18. Franklin will be preceded by Lake Street Dive, featuring vocalist Rachel Price, the Rolling Stone-voted Best New Band and Best New Voice, respectively.
Aside from female frenzy, there will also be the Louisiana flavors of Buckwheat Zydeco and Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on Friday, July 17, as well as local and scholastic groups including the City of Syracuse Parks & Rec All Star Band, AppleJazz, Noteified and the Upstate Burners. The free festival will return to the rolling lawns of the campus of Onondaga Community College campus.
Frank Malfitano Michael Davis Photo | Syracuse New Times
“As a programmer, I have to look at each night independently,” says Jazz Fest founder and producer Frank Malfitano. “Each has to crescendo to a finale. I have to entertain the audiences first and foremost and look for great entertainers. Each of these artists have put their indelible stamp on the music. I’ve got to sequence the programming the same way you put together a set list, with each performance leading into the next.
“And it would be incorrect to say I have a personal favorite over any other,” Malfitano continues. “I love them all. It’s really gonna be great. But, if I’m being completely honest, as a presenter, nothing tops presenting Aretha Franklin. It is the ultimate.”
Malfitano first met Franklin during the civil rights movement when both marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But it wasn’t until 2000 that Malfitano first presented her at the Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts. Since then, he’s presented her more than a dozen times, including the 25th anniversary M&T Jazz Fest in 2007, when Franklin set the single-day Jazz Fest record, drawing 40,000 people.
“She’s the greatest there ever was,” he says. “And she can do it all.”
Aretha Franklin, the undisputed queen of soul who is No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s list of Top 100 Greatest Singers, will reign on Saturday, July 18 at the Syracuse M&T Jazz Fest.
The singer is currently touring in support of Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, the 2014 album that features the powerhouse covering everything from Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” to the Prince-Sinead O’Connor track “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Malfitano hails the CD as “one of the greatest albums I’ve ever heard.”
Franklin’s inclusion in this year’s festival is not only a major event for Syracuse, but it’s also a major catalyst for Lake Street Dive’s appearance on the bill. When Malfitano contacted this new-to-the-radar band’s management, however, they weren’t quick to agree to a jazz festival.
“I saw them and they blew me away,” Malfitano says. “They were just phenomenal and Rachel (Price) is a force of nature. I talked to their agent and said, ‘Look, do you guys ever do jazz festivals?’ And he said, ‘We really play things like South By Southwest and Coachella, more indie, alternative stuff.’ I said, ‘I’d love to have you on the stage that night.’ He asked, ‘Who ya got headlining?’ I said, ‘Aretha.’ He said, ‘We’re in.’”
“As a programmer, I have to look at each night independently,” says Jazz Fest founder and producer Frank Malfitano. “Each has to crescendo to a finale. I have to entertain the audiences first and foremost and look for great entertainers. Each of these artists have put their indelible stamp on the music. I’ve got to sequence the programming the same way you put together a set list, with each performance leading into the next.
“And it would be incorrect to say I have a personal favorite over any other,” Malfitano continues. “I love them all. It’s really gonna be great. But, if I’m being completely honest, as a presenter, nothing tops presenting Aretha Franklin. It is the ultimate.”
Malfitano first met Franklin during the civil rights movement when both marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But it wasn’t until 2000 that Malfitano first presented her at the Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts. Since then, he’s presented her more than a dozen times, including the 25th anniversary M&T Jazz Fest in 2007, when Franklin set the single-day Jazz Fest record, drawing 40,000 people.
“She’s the greatest there ever was,” he says. “And she can do it all.”
The singer is currently touring in support of Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, the 2014 album that features the powerhouse covering everything from Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” to the Prince-Sinead O’Connor track “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Malfitano hails the CD as “one of the greatest albums I’ve ever heard.”
Franklin’s inclusion in this year’s festival is not only a major event for Syracuse, but it’s also a major catalyst for Lake Street Dive’s appearance on the bill. When Malfitano contacted this new-to-the-radar band’s management, however, they weren’t quick to agree to a jazz festival.
“I saw them and they blew me away,” Malfitano says. “They were just phenomenal and Rachel (Price) is a force of nature. I talked to their agent and said, ‘Look, do you guys ever do jazz festivals?’ And he said, ‘We really play things like South By Southwest and Coachella, more indie, alternative stuff.’ I said, ‘I’d love to have you on the stage that night.’ He asked, ‘Who ya got headlining?’ I said, ‘Aretha.’ He said, ‘We’re in.’”
