As the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest approaches its 35th anniversary, founder and executive producer Frank Malfitano describes himself as “elated.”“It’s a remarkable community achievement, and something we should all be celebrating in a big way because we did it together, as a community,” he says. “Only a handful of other cities have jazz festivals that have reached this milestone.”
In Creative Conversations, presented April 8 by the Skaneateles Area Arts Council (SKARTS), Malfitano will preview the upcoming season and discuss his inspirations, joys and challenges at the festival’s helm. The program starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Sherwood Inn, with a reception featuring hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary glass of wine or beer. NewsChannel 9’s Carrie Lazarus will moderate the discussion and take questions from the audience.
The Syracuse Jazz Fest is the Northeast’s largest free jazz festival and has been ranked “One of the Top Five Free Jazz Festivals in the United States” by Fest Press: A Guide to U.S. Music Festivals.
The turning point for the festival, Malfitano says, came in 1991, when it moved downtown to Clinton and Armory squares (from Long Branch Park in Liverpool) and became a free two-day event. “After that, we grew exponentially in every way,” he recalls. “We had more music, more big-name artists, more attendees, more stages, more venues and a huge increase in funding, seemingly overnight.”
His favorite season? “If I had to select just one, it would be the 1998 festival, with Jean Luc Ponty and Boney James, when Kathy Rowe (then a Y94FM on-air personality) and I fell in love,” he says. “It was our second date. We’ve been together ever since. It was magical, unforgettable.”
Under the aegis of Syracuse Jazz Fest Productions, Malfitano has produced more than 2,000 events across the country, including 42 outdoor music festivals. The SU graduate has been actively involved on the national jazz scene for four decades, serving as associate publisher of Jazz Times magazine, director of the Detroit International Jazz Festival, and executive producer of international jazz industry conventions in New Orleans and Los Angeles.
He was named a National Jazz Hero last year by the Jazz Journalists Association, and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner proclaimed April 15, 2016 “Frank Malfitano Day.” He also is an Emmy Award nominee, the recipient of an honorary doctoral degree in music from the State University of New York and, in 2012, he was named an honorary “Mother of Invention” by the legendary Frank Zappa band’s original members.
Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at skarts.org. Attendance is limited; seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Proceeds from Creative Conversations support the SKARTS grants program, which has awarded more than 70 grants to artists, arts organizations, libraries, civic groups, choral groups, church groups, museums, schools, theaters and other community nonprofit organizations.
SKARTS, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, works to celebrate the visual and performing arts by creating an environment where cultural activity thrives in our community. In addition to its grants program, the council presents a variety of cultural programming and events.