Singer Aretha Franklin to headline Tri-C JazzFest

April 19, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Cleveland

The beat keeps on going.

Coming off the heels of the incredibly successful Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and related events last week, the 33rd annual Tri-C JazzFest provides Northeast Ohio with a plethora of familiar and smooth sounds today through April 29 in venues all over the Rock Hall City.

Looking at this year’s bill, Tri-C JazzFest Director Terri Pontremoli said there are numerous artists catering to all different sounds and styles. There’s Ernie Krivda’s “Thunder from the Heartland” (Tuesday at The Hermit Club) and David Sanborn Trio and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (April 27 at the State Theatre).

However, this popular annual event boasts two artists of majestic proportions bookending the festival.

Naturally, this is the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin (Saturday at the State Theatre) and modern jazz giant Diana Krall (April 28 at the State Theatre).

“Aretha is such an icon,” Pontremoli said. “She’s really an important American music figure. The funny thing about Aretha is that her musical background is very deep and does stem from jazz. She was around the music a lot, and her first recording was jazz standards. People probably don’t remember that. So she has an affinity for our music, but she’s who she is, she’s going to sing what people want to hear her sing, and she’s probably going to play the piano a bit too, which is really great.”

As far as Krall is concerned, Pontremoli said she has an amazing track record, with more albums sold than most people know, and possesses a sound embraced in jazz circles as well as appealing to the mainstream.

“I remember years ago when we presented her for our 25th anniversary, and then also one time prior, before she got to be so big,” Pontremoli said. “What I love about her is people that don’t know the great American song book have gotten to know the standards through Diana. She really did cultivate a new audience for our music.”

In terms of audiences, estimates suggest the Tri-C JazzFest annually attracts between 30,000 and 40,000 music fans that are seeking out niche artists and unique moments. Pontremoli said some of those experiences this year will come from appearances by young artists such as Kellylee Evans and Ki Allen with a free tribute to Nina Simone (Saturday at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church), Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition winner Ben Williams (free on Sunday at East Cleveland Public Library) and Miami-born saxophonist Marcus Strickland (Sunday at Tri-C Metro Campus’ Black Box Theatre).

Something else that has Pontremoli excited this year is the inaugural Down Beat Invitational Tri-C JazzFest High School All-Star Alumni (Monday at Tri-C Metro Campus) featuring Sean Jones, Dominick Farinacci and Jerome Jennings. This speaks to the legacy and mission statement of the festival, which is to not only spread jazz music but create an interest in the genre among young Northeast Ohio artists.

After being influenced by the music, now they’re coming home to pay tribute and show off their talents.

“These kids are now in their 20s and 30s, and they live in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles and New York City and New Orleans,” Pontremoli said. “They’re coming in to play in a big band together. It just shows you the kind of training they got. It’s all really positive and striking.”

Such positive feelings abound with the Tri-C JazzFest, which it turns out could be expanding in the near future.

“The festival is evolving,” Pontremoli said. “Change has to happen in any organization. What we’re trying to do right now is make it more present year-round. If you look at some of the other festivals that are more similar to ours, like the San Francisco Jazz Festival, it used to be one 10-day thing. Then they expanded it into two times a year; and now they have jazz going on all of the time. They still have weekend festivals, but they really are presenting the music year-round. That’s the kind of thing we need to do here.”

For information regarding all of the Tri-C JazzFest concerts, call 216-987-4444, or visit www.tricpresents.com.