![](http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/newyork/file-178-.jpg")
Keebler Malf: Jazz guru Frank Malfitano proudly announces this year’s JGB Jazz Fest is still on. Michael Davis photo.
Bernie Clarke, both the point man for scheduling acts for the Blues Festival and front man of The Rhythm Sharks, offered his shindig’s lineup during an April 22 press conference in front of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. The festival is slated for Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13, starting at 1:30 p.m. both days at Clinton Square. The Fabulous Thunderbirds headline on Saturday night, Jimmie Vaughan with Lou Ann Barton are Sunday’s closers, and plenty of other performers will be on hand, including local talents such as Los Blancos, Dr. Killdean and The Interns of Soul. Jam sessions with an ad-hoc group dubbed the Syracuse All-Stars wrap up both days’ local showcases. And Blues Fest will also present workshops for musicians at Hanover Square during the day. For more information about the Blues Festival, call 422-9400.
Meanwhile, JGB Jazz Fest impresario Frank Malfitano
declared, “Despite rumors about my retirement, I’m happy to announce
the festival is still on.” Malf made that proclamation during an April
23 press conference at Onondaga Community College, 4585 W. Seneca Turnpike, site of the next fest scheduled for Friday, June 27, 3 p.m., and Saturday, June 28, 1 p.m.
Those rumors were spread when the
sponsor of last year’s festival, M&T Bank, did not renew their
sponsorship for the 2008 edition. Stepping into the financial breach is
JGB Enterprises, a Liverpool-based hose manufacturing company,
which kicked in a six-digit dollar amount, which gave the 2008 fest an
operating budget of about $350,000, according to Malfitano.
That sum will keep the party going,
although the festival has been trimmed to two days instead of the
traditional three. As reported first in the March 12 issue of the Syracuse New Times, Sergio Mendes and Brazil 2008 will headline the show on Friday, while Chaka Khan will headline on Saturday. The information had been leaked by Jazz Times magazine earlier this year.
As has become tradition at the Syracuse
Jazz Fest, a gaggle of high school groups will perform on the National
Grid Scholastic Stage throughout the day, and a variety of national
acts will also entertain during the daylight hours on the WYYY-FM Y94
Main Stage. Among the featured acts will be The Oz Noy Trio with Anton Fig and Will Lee, The West Coast/East Coast Dream Band and The Ivan Lins Band on Friday, and The Steelheads, The Mouton Reunion Quartet, Bill Evans’ Soulgrass and The Mike Stern Band on Saturday. For information, visit www.syracusejazzfest.com.
Furthermore, Liz Nowak, president of the Sammys board, announced that Simplelife will headline this year’s award show, scheduled to take place starting at noon on Friday, June 6, at the Taste of Syracuse event in downtown Syracuse. Seven bands and seven hours of music from noon until 7 p.m. will precede the awards: Grupo Pagan (noon), Five to Life (1 p.m.), Ox Burg (2 p.m.), Bobby Green (3 p.m.), Lisa Gentile (4 p.m.), Primetime (5 p.m.) and Dead Rose
(6 p.m.). Awards will be announced from 7 to 9:30 p.m., and Simplelife
will party the night away after the ceremony. For Sammys information,
call 422-7011, Ext. 128.
House painters: The Goonies, known for
their catchy hip-hop tune “Jackson Pollock,” will be a part of this
summer’s Inner Harbor Block Party.
And Stacey Waterman, mastermind behind the Inner Harbor Block Parties, also revealed the bookings for this summer’s gigs at the Inner Harbor, 390 W. Kirkpatrick St., on Thursdays from 6 -11 p.m. The musical acts include:
May 15: Brand New Joe, Dead Rose, Under the Gun
May 22: Vagabond, The Undesirables, One Hard Krank
May 29: Brand New Joe, Emerald City, 3 Inch Fury
June 5: Legendary Jones Gang, Whiskey Mae, Frostbit Blue
June 12: Donna Colton and the Troublemakers, Shelly and the Barn Dogs, Kane
June 19: Villains’ Trust, The Reissues, Under the Gun
June 26: Sinners Ink, One Hard Krank
July 3: Aylyst, Emerald City, Whiskey Mae
July 10: J-Project, The Fabulous Ripcords, Los Blancos
July 17: The Reissues, Kane, Dead Rose
July 24: Brand New Joe, The Bomb, Under the Gun
July 31: 3 Inch Fury, One Hard Krank
Aug. 7: The Goonies, Supergush, Simplelife
Aug. 14: Cookbook, Atlas
Aug. 21: Kat Tale, Whiskey Mae, Emerald City
Aug. 28: Brand New Joe, Dead Rose, One Hard Krank
Sept. 4: Square Pegs, 3 Inch Fury
Sept. 11: The Reissues, Kane, Under the Gun
For more information, call 475-2500.
—Matt Mumau
