The Fredonia Jazz Society is pleased to announce the first-ever Fredonia Jazz Festival. The Festival will be held on Friday evening, September 24th, and all day Saturday, September 25, at the Rotunda Grapevine Railroad Farm, 307 E Main Street in Fredonia, NY. The event will feature a range of talent, from top-tier student work to performances by the world’s leading professional musicians. The line up takes advantage of the musical riches in our area and region and celebrates jazz as a uniquely American art form, a blending of cultures and transitions that is both musically sophisticated and joyously spontaneous.
Since 2018, the Fredonia Jazz Society has presented events at the Domus Fare Restaurant in Fredonia, an activity that was abruptly halted in 2020 due to the pandemic. As we ease back into live performances, our first major venture will be this two-day outdoor jazz festival of first-rate talent. Food and drink will be offered at concession tents set up by The Catering Company.
There will be plenty of free parking on the Rotunda grounds. There is a nearby indoor location, in case of rain.
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The festival will kick off at 6:00 pm on Friday, September 24, with the renowned jazz trio, i3°(Thirteen Degrees), from Ithaca, NY. It has been nearly two years since they last appeared in Fredonia, and they are always an amazing and engaging group to experience. With Nick Weiser, piano, Nicholas Walker, bass, and Greg Evans, drums, they blend a classic jazz approach with blistering creativity. As the opening act of the festival, they will set the mood and the standard for the rest of the weekend.
The festival resumes on Saturday morning at 11:00 am with short sets offered by the jazz bands of Cassadaga, Brocton, Clymer, and Fredonia High Schools. Starting about 1:00 pm, the jazz band from SUNY Fredonia will take the stage, and that will be followed by Dave Golando’s group of professionals from around the region. At 5:00 pm, the Multi Dimensions Quartet from Buffalo will appear with singer Alex McArthur, and around 7:00 pm, we will be treated to a performance by famed trombonist and headliner Delfeayo Marsalis.
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Delfeayo grew up in New Orleans with his brothers Wynton and Branford. Their father is the legendary jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis. For all the Marsalis family, the New Orleans jazz legacy is at the core of their musical sensibilities, but even more than his siblings, Delfeayo’s musical mind does not venture too far from home. He celebrates the fun and joy of jazz, embraces the cultural and social blending that is its source, and delivers an intoxicating energy and drive in his performances that is familiar to the clubs and streets of New Orleans.
The performances that occur before 4:30 will be free and open to the public. The evening events will have a modest fee of $15. Those who attend Friday night will be given a ticket to return on Saturday night so they do not need to pay again. This ticket is even transferable to another person if desired.
The Fredonia Jazz Society is a community-based, non-profit organization that supports and hosts live performance and related activities around Western New York for the benefit of music lovers of all ages and backgrounds. With an emphasis on high standards and on local and guest artists, the aim is to enhance the quality of life through music and the arts. Tickets and more information are at fredoniajazzsociety.com.
