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Lineup Announced For 2019 CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival 18th Edition

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For 2019, the canvas of musical colors we’ll present will be brighter than ever." Our patrons can look forward to hearing all forms of creative improvised music, from hard bop, soul, funk grooves, classic jazz, big bands to free form, avant-garde and the straight up blues. We take great pride in working hard to bring amazing music for everyone to enjoy. Don’t forget, it's not who you know, it’s who you don’t know! We’ll see you on Jazz Street!
—John Nugent, Artistic Director and Co-Producer
Producers John Nugent and Marc Iacona today announced the full lineup for the 2019 nine-day CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival. Now in its 18th year, the festival will be held June 21 to 29 and present more than 320+ shows including a record 100+ free shows and 1500+ artists from around the world performing in 20 diverse venues in downtown Rochester, New York.

Headlining this year's festival are George Benson, Steve Gadd Band, Patti Labelle, Jeff Goldblum & the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra Steve Miller Band with special guest Marty Stuart, and Marc Cohn and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Free show headliners include Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue , returning to the festival for his seventh appearance, the Allman Betts Band and The Legendary Downchild Blues Band 50th Anniversary Tour featuring Dan Aykroyd.

From legendary performers and familiar favorites, to rising stars and new discoveries, the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival navigates all genres of creative improvised music from all corners of the world. More than 208,000 people attended the 2018 Festival.

The multi-dimensional festival is presented in three series, Headliner, Club Pass Series of 220+ shows and a record 100+ free shows and events.

The festival's two popular international series return including Made in the UK at Christ Church, and Nordic & Euro Jazz Now at Lutheran Church of the Reformation. The world comes to Rochester with artists performing coming from Canada, England Scotland, Sweden, France, Israel, Finland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Ghana, and Brazil.

Nightly Jam Sessions will be held at the Hyatt Regency Rochester starting at 10:30 p.m. led by Bob Sneider and Karl Stabnau.

5 Free Student Jazz Workshops for music students of all ages will be held June 24 to June 28. Sponsored by Wegmans.

The Rochester International Jazz Festival's jazz scholarship program has awarded almost $500,000 in scholarships to 40 students entering Eastman School of Music. This year's free Scholarship Concert is Monday, June 24th.

Hundreds of young musicians from area schools as well as Eastman School's community music program will perform at the festival.

The Official Festival App updated for 2019 for iPhone and Android devices will be available in April.

Sign up for e-news and follow the festival on social media to get announcements.

“John and I are excited to announce yet another strong and talented lineup for the 2019 CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival," said Marc Iacona, Executive Director and Co-producer. “Our new title sponsor, CGI Communications, highly respected legendary and emerging jazz musicians, and the addition of new Club Pass venues, should leave people with much anticipation for our 2019 Festival!"

“For 2019, the canvas of musical colors we’ll present will be brighter than ever," said John Nugent, Artistic Director and Co-producer. “Our patrons can look forward to hearing all forms of creative improvised music, from hard bop, soul, funk grooves, classic jazz, big bands to free form, avant-garde and the straight up blues. We take great pride in working hard to bring amazing music for everyone to enjoy. Don’t forget, it's not who you know, it’s who you don’t know! We’ll see you on Jazz Street!"

“This year we received well over 2,000 unsolicited email booking requests," added Nugent. “We’re honored to bring back the amazing Jake Shimabukuro to open our Club Pass series for two nights. And we will bookend the Club Pass series with one of the United Kingdom's most revered groups, the Kansas Smitty’s House Band, who own their own club in London where they perform nightly."

Producers Picks – Not to Miss!

Jake Shimabukuro, Sasha Berliner Quintet Emilie-Claire Barlow, The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra plays Peter & The Wolf, Paa Kow, Bill Frisell Trio, Downchild Blues Band 50th Anniversary Tour featuring Dan Aykroyd, Gilad Hekselman, Scott Robinson, Tamar Korn & Kornucopia, Michael Winograd & The Honorable Mentshn, Tamar Korn, Roosevelt Collier, George Coleman Quartet, Vincent Peirani, John Pizzarelli, Thomas Backman, Enemy, Trish Clowes My Iris, Ozmosys, Jon Stickley Trio, Paris_Monster, Vilray, Nubya Garcia, Under One Sun Bill Charlap, Catherine Russell, Matthew Whitaker, Gene Perla Trio, Kansas Smitty’s House Band, Allman Betts Band, Cha Wa, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.

What's New in 2019?

4 New Venues

  • Geva Theatre Wilson Stage (Club Pass Venue), all 9 days
  • Geva Theatre Fielding Stage (Club Pass Venue), all 9 days
  • Squeezers Stage at M&T Pavilion – Parcel 5 (Club Pass Venue) Friday, June 21 to Friday, June 27
  • City of Rochester Midtown Stage (Parcel 5) Presented by Rochester Regional Health – Outdoor Free Stage for final weekend, Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29

3 New Sponsors

  • CGI Communications – Title Sponsor
  • Canfield & Tack – Official Print Sponsor
  • NextCorp – Corporate Hospitality Sponsor
All Club Passes are Shareable – transfer and share as you like. Good at all 12 Club Pass Venues.

Expanding the Save Time in Line number system – to Geva shows, for the first sets in addition to first shows at Kilbourn and Max of Eastman Place.

Record Number- 100+ Free Shows & Events!

  • 7 Free Shows at new M&T Pavilion presented by City of Rochester at 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 21 to Friday, June 27
  • 14 Free Shows at Fusion Stage – 7 nights (previously 5 nights) of free shows presented by Avangrid Foundation, RG&E and Barclay Damon – at 7 & 9 p.m.

Two Stages on Parcel 5

Squeezers Stage at M&T Club Pass Pavilion- 7 nights, Friday, June 21 to Friday, June 27 with free shows at 4:30 p.m. and 2 Club Pass Shows nightly at 7:00 and 8:45 p.m.

Free City of Rochester Midtown Stage Presented by Rochester Regional Health- 2 nights, Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29 for two free shows nightly at 7 & 9 p.m. with the Allman Betts Band headlining on Friday and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue on Saturday.

Free Jazz Workshops sponsored by Wegmans will now be open to music students of any age and will be held at the Eastman School of Music Ray Wright Room (120) from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Monday, June 24 to Friday, June 28. The workshops are instructed by visiting festival artists and led by Bob Sneider.

Ticket Info

Service charge will be added to ticket price

  • June 21 – Steve Gadd Band – $103 / $83 / $63 / $43
  • June 22 – Patti LaBelle – $115 / $105 / $85 / $70
  • June 25 – Marc Cohn and the Blind Boys of Alabama – $84 / $74 / $54 / $34
  • June 26 – Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra – $115 / $105 / $85 / $70
  • June 27 – George Benson – $123 / $93 / $73 / $53
  • June 28 – Steve Miller Band with Special Guests Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives – $161 / $151 / $131 / $91
Club Passes On Sale Now – The Club Pass provides access to up to 220+ Club Pass shows at 12 official Club Pass venues at a significant savings off the individual entry cover charges of $35 for Kilbourn Hall and $30 at all other Club Pass venues. Not valid for headliner shows. Seating is first-come, first-served.

  • 3 Day Club Pass – $194 + $6 service charge, use any 3 days during the festival
  • 9 Day Club Pass – $254 + $6 service charge

Ticket Shop Opens June 3

The Ticket Shop is located at 100 East Avenue at the corner of Gibbs Street. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday, June 3 to Thursday, June 20, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, June 21 to Saturday, June 29. Buy tickets, get information, pick up brochures, and redeem Club Pass tickets for a Club Pass.

Visit rochesterjazz.com for Full Lineup



HEADLINER SERIES VENUE

Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, 26 Gibbs St, Rochester, NY 14604

CLUB PASS SERIES VENUES

  • Christ Church (141 East Ave) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Geva Theatre – Fielding Stage (75 Woodbury Blvd.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Geva Theatre – Wilson Stage (75 Woodbury Blvd.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Hatch Recital Hall, Eastman East Wing (433 E. Main St.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music (26 Gibbs St.) $35 cash at the door or Club Pass.
  • Lutheran Church of the Reformation (111 N. Chestnut St.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Max of Eastman Place (25 Gibbs St.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass.
  • Montage Music Hall (50 Chestnut Plaza) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Rochester Regional Health Big Tent (Main St. & Gibbs St.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Squeezers Stage at M&T Pavilion (Parcel 5, 285 E Main St.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • Temple Building Theater (50 Liberty Pole Way) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass
  • The Wilder Room (120 East Ave.) $30 cash at the door or Club Pass

FREE SHOW VENUES / STAGES

  • Avangrid Foundation / RG&E / Barclay Damon Fusion Stage
  • Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County
  • City of Rochester East Ave. & Chestnut St. Stage Presented by Rochester Regional Health
  • City of Rochester East Ave. & Chestnut St. Stage Presented by Wegmans
  • City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage Presented by The Community Foundation (Gibbs St.)
  • City of Rochester Midtown Stage Presented by Rochester Regional Health (Parcel 5)
  • Hyatt Regency Rochester – Jam Sessions nightly 10:30 p.m. (125 E Main St.)
  • Rochester Regional Health Big Tent – 6 p.m. shows only (Main St. & Gibbs St.)
  • Squeezers Stage at M&T Pavilion – 4:30 p.m. shows only (Parcel 5, 285 E Main St.)
  • Student Jazz Workshops – Ray Wright Room, ESM, Room 120 (26 Gibbs St.)

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