An early highlight of the summer for jazz fans in the US Northeast is always the Freihoer's Saratoga Jazz Festival, held on the grounds of the lovely Saratoga Performing Arts Center ("SPAC"). This year's lineup should please almost any jazz fan, bringing ta wide ranging lineup to two stages on June 29 and 30. Want the inside scoop on the festival? listen to Podcast 979 as festival organizer Danny Melnick talks about the acts, the scene and the background on a great weekend of music.

The Festival scehdule (subject to change) is:

Saturday, June 29th

Amphitheater Stage

· 12:00PM – The New Orleans Groove Masters featuring Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis & Shannon Powell

· 1:45PM – Joey Alexander Trio with special guest Theo Croker ​

· 3:30PM – The Yussef Dayes Experience

· 5:15PM – Samara Joy​

· 7:00PM – Cimafunk with special guest Pedrito Martinez​

· 8:55PM – Lake Street Dive​

Charles R. Wood Discovery Stage

· 11:00AM – Sara Caswell Quartet

· 12:20PM – Harold López-Nussa: Timba a la Americana​

· 1:40PM – Tia Fuller​

· 3:00PM – Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra​

· 4:20PM – Theo Croker​

· 5:40PM – Coco Montoya​

Sunday June 30th

Amphitheater Stage

· 12:30PM – Terence Blanchard Sextet

· 2:00PM – Cory Henry

· 3:30PM – Laufey​

· 5:15PM – Stanley Clarke N*4Ever​

· 7:00PM – Norah Jones​

Charles R. Wood Discovery Stage

· 11:30AM – Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars Centennial Celebration of Max Roach, Bud Powell & J.J. Johnson featuring Clay Jenkins, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis, Mike Moreno, Bill Cunliffe, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel ​

· 12:55PM – Helen Sung: JazzPlasticity

· 2:20PM – Miguel Zenon Quartet​

· 4:00PM – Olatuja

· 5:35PM – Pedrito Martinez Group

""In a world where it's easy to be cynical and bitter, what strikes me most about Nicola and his music is the pure joy and excitement that he brings and carries with him at all times. To be present in the euphoria of this art form is the most difficult skill the way I see it and many young artists seem to ignore that simple and powerful fact. Nicola, in addition to being an accomplished instrumentalist and composer, possesses that ineffable quality that draws us to his music." - Rio Sakairi, the artistic director of The Jazz Gallery, NYC,

In one of the best debut recordings of the year so far, Italian-born, NYC-based saxophonist Nicola Caminiti has released Vivid Tales of a Blurry Self-Portrait on his own label. Leading a quartet that includes pianist Lex Korten, bassist Ben Tiberio and drummer Miguel Russell, Nicola shows strong writing skills and plenty of chops to go with them. The band’s interplay shows that they’ve been honing this material for some time now, and the result is a terrific listen.

Caminiti has racked up impressive accolades over the recent past, including being named a 2023 Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Composer, winning the North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Competition, and a Jazz Gallery Artist Commission for 2023-2024. He's performed with Pedrito Martinez, Arturo O’Farrill & Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and his friend and mentor Dayna Stephens, among many others.

Podcast 977 is my conversation with Nicola, as we discuss the band, how he goes about writing his tunes, and what musicians have inspired and driven him to be a jazz musician. Musical selections from Vivid Tales of a Blurry Self-Portrait include “Elliptical Biking,” written during the pandemic, and “Adam Arturo,” a tribute of sorts to jazz musician Adam O’Farrill.

Zaccai Curtis continues to be one of the most engaging piano players of the past decade. Whether as a band leader (alone or with his brother Luques) or backing the likes of the late Ralph Peterson, Lakecia Benjamin and Cindy Blackman Santana, his strong sense of rhythm and deep knowledge of Latin and Afro-Cuban sounds and Bebop chords make him a cornerstone of those artist’s sounds.

Cubop Lives! is an album that stands as the culmination of his work as a composer/arranger, performer, and educator steeped in the Afro-Cuban Jazz tradition. Backed by Willie Martinez (drums, voice, timbales), Camilo Molina (percussion), Reinaldo De Jesus (percussion, drums), and brother Luques Curtis (bass), he has delivered an album that creates a fusion of the Bebop and Latin jazz traditions. For example, one of the most notable ways he does this is through the “Noro Morales Suite,” a collection of four pieces by the great Puerto Rican pianist, Noro Morales, one of Zaccai’s musical heroes. And then with his take on Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” he reinterprets a piano staple and turns it into something fresh and new.

Since his days learning at the feet of masters like Jackie McLean in Hartford, Connecticut, Zaccai has absorbed innumerous influences. With the new album, he gets to turn that sound loose, on his original tunes and tasty covers. There is nary a week moment on the album, and I suspect it will find its way to many year-end “Best of” lists.

Zaccai records on the Truth Revolution Recording Collective, a group he, Luques and likeminded musicians run to release and distribute their work. We discuss his label, and how he came to be so versed in Latin Jazz in Podcast 976. Musical selections include “Maple Leaf Rag” and the Curits-penned blues “Black Rice.”