Central NY Music News
Australian singing sensation headlines Seneca Savings Jazzfest
Tonight You Belong To Me (Lee David) - Aleksi Glick & Olivia Chindamo // Songs & Standards [Live]
By CNY Jazz Central
Syracuse NY – CNY Jazz Central's annual fundraiser, The Seneca Savings January JAZZfest, will again be held at Mohegan Manor, Baldwinsville's historic, multi-story event center, on Sunday January 26th with expanded hours from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.
This year's national guest artist is Olivia Chindamo, Australian native and new resident of New York City. The festival offers continuous music on all floors of the venue in a multiplicity of styles – from bebop, cabaret, funk, Latin, and soul to acoustic swing. A pair of S.U. Men's Basketball tickets will again be raffled as the grand prize in an event-long auction. Advance tickets are available for $25 at www.cnyjazz.org. Admission at the door is $30, $15 with valid student I.D. Preceding the festival, Jazz Brunch is back at Mohegan from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, and holders of festival tickets (wristbands distributed at the front entrance) will receive $10.00 off that additional $29.00 cost.
Still in her mid-twenties, festival headliner Olivia Chindamo has been hitting the American and European jazz scene like a hammer since emigrating to New York from Down Under. After winning Australia's Jazz Grammy, the 2016 Bell Award for "Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year," she was one of the five finalists of the 2018 Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition. She is renowned as a "musician's singer" whose uncanny ability to scat like a jazz soloist is unique in her craft. She is also a master of the Great American Songbook, capable of hard-hitting swing and haunting ballads. Other acts performing throughout the day include area stalwarts The Longwood Jazz Project, bringing funky dance sounds to the second floor of the venue; Mike Passarelli, playing for the brunch; the return of Edgar Pagan's GPL with special guest and alumni of CNY Jazz programs Dunham Hall, now ascendant on the national scene; the cabaret vocals of Julie Falatico, now Mrs. Rick Montalbano, appearing with Rick in the lower lounge; The Mike Passarelli Trio, holding court over a jam session of star grads from CNY Jazz training programs in a celebrity jam; and an event-closing professional jam session that runs until 9:00 pm, led by saxophonist Joe Carello. Mohegan Manor's fine food and drink will be available at all times throughout the festival. A complete hour-by-hour performance schedule is available at http://www.cnyjazz.org/january-jazzfest.
A large family of corporate sponsors makes the event possible, led by Seneca Savings and Mohegan Manor, including S.U. Sports, Reeves, Farms, Ricelli Trucking, OneGroup, Hearth Cabinets And More, Scott Northrup State Farm Agency, J.R. Clancy, Onondaga Beverage, new sponsor Griffin Insulation Company, Eastwood Litho, media sponsors WAER-FM, CNY Latino, Power 620 and News Radio WSYR, Table Hopping, and Eagle News.
Raffle items will also be available, including the centerpiece prizes of two tickets to the S.U. vs Georgia Tech Men's Basketball game in the Dome. "We call this festival our annual 'fun-raiser', because you'd never know it was a charity event," according to Larry Luttinger, founder of CNY Jazz and creator of the event, now in its ninth year. "We couldn't make this happen without the loyalty of Seneca Savings, Mohegan Manor, and all of our other fine sponsors. I am continually humbled by the support we get from the area's finest musicians as well, who make this shindig a sampler of America's music from soup to nuts. There's a room with a style of music catering to every taste at this festival." He added, "With your entry wristband, you can come and go as you please throughout the day. Pop out to feed the dog and return to the party – we'll be there for you!"
All proceeds from the event will support the many programs of CNY Jazz Central, upstate New York's largest year-round provider of jazz and American music in public and in schools, presenting over 300 events to an annual audience of over 50,000. They include a summer season of festivals and concerts including the Northeast Jazz & Wine Fest and Jazz in the City; the CNY Jazz Cabaret Series, a busy arts-in-education service, shows at downtown's Jazz Central theater, the SummerJazz Workshop, Scholastic Jazz Jams and Nancy Kelly Vocal Jams and Cabarets; the Jazz at the Cavalier Series at the historic Marriott Syracuse Downtown, Jazz Vespers Series at Pebble Hill Presbyterian, Jazz On Tap in Skaneateles, and other series and educational programs of all kinds throughout the extended region. They operate the CNY Jazz Youth Orchestra, a paying summer apprenticeship program for urban youth.
Club Room (Lower Level)
1:00 Rick Montalbano
2:15 Julie Falatico
3:30 Rick, Julie, & Friends
6:30 Joe Carello's All Star Jam
Lounge/Bar (First Level)
2:15 Edgar Pagan's GPL with Dunham Hall
Grey Room (Second Level)
11:00 Jazz Brunch with Mike Passarelli
2:15 Longwood Jazz Project
6:00 CNY Jazz Alumni Jam with Mike Passarelli
W.F. Morris Ballroom (Third Level)
4:30 Olivia Chindamo with The Micro Big Band