The 20th annual Scranton Jazz Festival will feature more than 20 venues and 80 musicians the weekend of Aug. 1-3, a long way from its roots as a one-day event in Nay Aug Park.
“Did I think it would turn into the whole downtown? No,” said Artistic Director Marko Marcinko.
By the fifth or sixth year, Marcinko said, he noticed the increasing number of people from outside the region in the audience.
The headliner among the jazz, blues and world beat music is Tower of Power, at the Scranton Cultural Center on Saturday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m. The California funk and soul band has been on the scene for 57 years, with different lineups. Its hits include 1970s songs “You’re Still a Young Man,” “So Very Hard to Go” and “What Is Hip?” It is still releasing music.
The world-renowned funk and R&B band Tower of Power will headline the Scranton Jazz Festival on Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. at the Scranton Cultural Center. (Submitted)
Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band (Scranton Jazz Festival)
Marko Marcinko is one of the founders and artistic director of the Scranton Jazz Festival since its inception. (Submitted)
French jazz vocalist Ilona Knopfler will perform with the Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band. (Scranton Jazz Festival)
“The band is in great shape,” said Tower of Power founder and bandleader Emilio Castillo, who is in Finland for a jazz festival. “We are having a lot of fun together.” Audiences should expect call-and-response singing with the band, he said.
They will play their hits and add some personal favorites, Castillo said.
“They have been at the top of their game in any version, on any album,” Marcinko said. He considers them one of the top horn bands “ever in the history of music.”
Tickets start at $45.65. A limited VIP sound check experience package is $178.80.
On Sunday, Aug. 3, the 17-piece Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band and guest artists will perform at 6 p.m. at the Scranton Cultural Center. The guests are vocalists and instrumentalists with major credits, Marcinko said. That includes French jazz vocalist Ilona Knopfler, trumpeter Carl Fischer, bassist Maryann McSweeney, saxophonist Sal Giorgianni, Jeff Barone on guitar, Ron Oswanski on accordion and Nate Birkey with trumpet and vocals.
The opening act is the Pennsylvania Jazz Institute Ensemble, made up mostly of regional high school students. “The kids are really strong this year,” Marcinko said.
Tickets start at $15 for students, with adult tickets starting at $28.
Other events are free to patrons of restaurants and bars, plus a few other public spaces, in downtown Scranton.
Jazz Walk venues, on Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday include many within walking distance of each other. A trolley service will run from 6 to 10 p.m.
Warney Cellar and Tap is a new addition to the Jazz Walk on Friday. It opened in the Casey Laundry Building, 515 Center St., in June. “I appreciate the opportunity to get some additional exposure,” said owner Francis Ghilardi.
Mike Kuehn & The Pennsylvania Jazz Society Trio will perform traditional swing and Dixieland with banjo, clarinet and bass sax from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Weather permitting, Ghilardi plans for them to perform on the patio, where they could also be heard through open windows. That part of Center Street will temporarily be turned over to pedestrians on that evening.
It’s too soon to say if Warney Cellar and Tap will offer a special menu, Ghilardi said earlier this week. “We are excited about putting our regular offerings in front of a larger audience,” he said. They will order from a menu centered on wine, snacks and small plates. “Don’t you want to hear some jazz music while you are doing that?” Ghilardi said.
There will be brunch performances at six restaurants on the final day of the festival.
For tickets and information, the Festival’s website is scrantonjazzfestival.org.
If you go
What: Scranton Jazz Festival, with performances by Tower of Power and visiting and local acts.
When: Aug. 1-3.
Where: Two headline acts will play the Scranton Cultural Center. Other events will be in restaurants and public spaces in downtown Scranton.
Details: See scrantonjazzfestival.org for tickets and a complete schedule.