Cazenovia College presents another excellent line-up of jazz and blues greats at the 20th Jazz-N-Caz festival sponsored by the Gorman Foundation. The festival begins Wednesday, September 14, 2022, and runs through Saturday, September 17. Featured acts include ESP Jazz Band, Loren & LJ Barrigar, The Instigators, Mark Doyle’s Guitar Noir, Monk Rowe Family Band, and Salt City Jazz Collective Big Band.
As part of the 20th celebration, the festival will also honor Syracuse Jazz Fest Founder Frank Malfitano who has brought some of the greatest names in jazz and American popular music to Syracuse, including such legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, The Count Basie Orchestra, The Neville Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Tony Bennett, Nancy Wilson and Sonny Rollins.
Jazz-N-Caz is free and open to the public; however, a $10 donation is suggested at evening events that take place in the Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia College.
Thanks to sponsors like the Gorman Foundation, the College is able to continue to host this event and offer top-notch programming.
The Schedule and Locations
Wednesday, September 14 - Homely Jones
Meier's Creek Brewing Company, 33 Rippleton Road, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, September 15 - ESP Jazz Band
Brae Loch Inn, 5 Albany Street, 7:30 – 10:00 p.m.
Friday, September 16 - Loren & LJ Barrigar
The Brewster Inn, 6 Ledyard Avenue, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, September 16 – The Instigators
The Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia College, 16 Lincklaen Street, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Friday, September 16 – Mark Doyle’s Guitar Noir
The Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia College, 16 Lincklaen Street, 8:30 – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 17 – Monk Rowe Family Band
The Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia College, 16 Lincklaen Street, 7:00 -8:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 17 - Jazz ‘N Caz honoree award presented to Frank Malfitano
The Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia College, 16 Lincklaen Street, 8:00 p.m
Saturday, September 17 – Salt City Jazz Collective Big Band
The Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia College, 16 Lincklaen Street, 8:30 -10:00 p.m.
On Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17 the celebration of jazz music continues after 10:00 p.m. with “Jazz After Hours” featuring Tom Witkowski on piano and Joe Cortini on drums. “Jazz After Hours” takes place at the Seven Stone Steps tavern at the Lincklaen House in Cazenovia. The venue is at the corner of Lincklaen and Albany Streets adjacent to the Catherine Cummings Theatre.
The Musicians
ESP Jazz Band
E.S.P. is a high energy, contemporary jazz group featuring original music. Their recordings are part jazz, part funk and part world music. This exciting jazz quartet's 2009 album Time’s Up was featured in JAZZIZ magazine. In 2010, the record won a Syracuse Area Music Award (Sammy) for best jazz Recording and continues to receive airplay worldwide. In 2012, E.S.P. was voted “Best Jazz Group” in the Syracuse New Times annual reader’s poll. Their 2011 release, Reach, was produced by the Grammy Award-winning bassist of The Yellowjackets, Jimmy Haslip, and features three tracks with legendary keyboardist Jeff Lorber. This year, E.S.P. released Zero Gravity to critical acclaim, winning the band its third consecutive SAMMY award.
Loren Barrigar and L.J. Barrigar
Loren Barrigar started playing at the age of four and by the time he was six became the youngest instrumentalist to perform at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville TN. As a teenager his family band toured nationally and had a long stay in Las Vegas, opening shows for many Country music stars such as Roy Acuff and George Morgan. He settled in Central New York and has raised his family while playing on countless recordings as a studio musician and performing in several bands. He has spent the last nine years touring with another fine guitarist Mark Mazengarb from New Zealand as one half of The International Guitar Duo Loren and Mark. He has performed with a who’s who list of acoustic players from Tommy Emmanuel to Laurence Juber (Paul McCartneys guitarist). As a songwriter his melodies have landed him on TV shows such as “The Young and the Restless” and “ER” as well as an International Acoustic Music Award for best instrumental (2013 Onward).
LJ Barrigar has been around guitars his whole life as he is Loren’s middle son. He is self-taught and has been heavily influenced by Tommy Emmanuel as well as his father. He has been on several tours as a guest artist with Loren and Mark in Europe and North America!
The Instigators
The Instigators are a Fusion group from Syracuse, New York. The group plays a mix of Jazz Fusion and Funk ranging from Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny, to more modern musicians like Theo Croker and Snarky Puppy. The band consists of six members: Brian Miller on bass, Theo Curtin on guitar, Marcus Oliver on drums, Michael Passarelli Jr. on keyboards, Liam Hines on trumpet and Jake Lawless on trombone.
Mark Doyle’s Guitar Noir
Mark Doyle Guitar Noir features a ten-piece ensemble including a core quintet comprised of Mark Doyle and Terry Quill on guitars, Bill DiCosimo on keyboards, Edgar Pagan on bass, and Joshua Dekaney on drums, along with a 5-piece Guitar Noir String Ensemble comprised of Noemi Miloradovic, Edgar Tumajyan, and Joe Davoli on violins, Jessica Yumajyan on violin and viola and Kate LaVerne on cello. The group will feature material from all of Mark Doyle’s recorded works.
Monk Rowe Five Families Ensemble
The Five Families Ensemble, directed by Monk Rowe, stretches the boundaries of the traditional chamber ensemble by combining sounds from each of the four instrument groups (brass, woodwinds, percussion, and strings) with a fifth contribution from the human voice. Five Families music is arranged specifically for the group and their jazz repertoire ranges from Blues to Brubeck, as well as original compositions. The Five Families Ensemble appeals to audiences of all ages by combining stellar musicianship with an engaging and welcoming attitude.
Salt City Jazz Collective Big Band
The Salt City Jazz Collective is a 17-piece All-Star Big Band project that was formed in 1995 by a group of Syracuse University Jazz educators and professors, who enlisted Syracuse-area jazz musicians/educators to join their ensemble. In addition to performing classic Big Band compositions by members Joe Riposo – jazz professor emeritus at Syracuse University, Steve Brown – jazz professor emeritus at Ithaca College, Paul Merrill – professor of jazz at Cornell University, and by the group’s leader since 2014 and first trombonist, Angelo Candela. Many of the ensemble’s former student musicians are now current members of the Salt City Jazz Collective.
The Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia College is named in memory of Catherine Cummings, a 1925 alumna who had benefited greatly by her opportunity to attend the College. Thanks to the Gorman Foundation of Sherrill, N.Y., the Catherine Cummings Theatre provides a venue for cultural events such as plays and concerts, as well as meeting space for the College and the village.
The Gorman Foundation of Sherrill, NY is also celebrating 20 years, with philanthropic support to the CNY community in honor of the late Catherine Cummings (Gorman), who was a 1925 Cazenovia College alumna.
For additional information on the programming and events, contact Colleen Prossner at 315-655-7238 or cprossner@cazenovia.edu.