There are lots of great festivals around Central New York. But few are so accessible, so universal and so excellent as Syracuse Jazz Fest, which celebrated its 38th year of music last weekend in Clinton Square.
We’re glad to see it back in Syracuse, thriving in a place where jazz fits most naturally: the center of downtown.
Year after year, founder Frank Malfitano and his outfit of volunteers and skeleton staff treat us to acts that travel the world playing anything from country to R&B to rockabilly to, of course, jazz. It’s free, and has been since it started in 1982.
The list of legendary musicians who have visited Syracuse thanks to Jazz Fest is jaw-dropping.
Ray Charles. Gladys Knight. Aretha Franklin. B.B. King. Chick Corea. Bela Fleck. Trombone Shorty. Todd Rundgren. Dave Brubeck. Dizzy Gillespie. Blood, Sweat & Tears. Doobie Brothers. Spyro Gyra. Lake Street Dive. And so many more.
This last weekend, it was Kenny G making his third trek to the Jazz Fest stage. Malfitano himself escorted the smooth sax king through the crowd and onto the stage in Clinton Square. The music moved one woman in the front row to tears.
Saturday brought the oldies of the O’Jays to town. Forty years ago, Betty Stephens saw them perform at the Syracuse War Memorial. She was sitting in the front row. Eddie Levert, the band’s lead singer, reached out to her, grabbed her hand and sang “Let Me Make Love to You.”
Last Saturday, less than a week removed from her 71st birthday, Stephens came downtown from her North Side home and watched again from the front rows as the O’Jays played that favorite song.
“It was just beautiful. It did something to my heart,” she said. “Music brings people together, and it was just beautiful. I can’t thank (Malfitano) enough for making that happen.”
Betty Stephens of Syracuse was among the thousands who packed Clinton Square on Saturday night to see the O'Jays close out the 2024 Syracuse Jazz Fest. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
Jazz Fest remains an invaluable gift to this city – something a lot of towns our size don’t get to enjoy. It’s the kind of event we can point to as we try to attract new, smart, young people to move here over the coming years.
It brings out the best of us: Business executives alongside vagabonds, suburban folk alongside city dwellers, young amid old, all united by music and place.
It represents everything a great, growing city should be. Its longevity and enduring quality are rare. They’re a testament to the time and care dedicated by Malfitano and the stewards of this community jewel, and we’re lucky to claim it as our own.
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