Enjoy the Saratoga Jazz Festival this June in Saratoga Springs

Part of the 2008 Saratoga Jazz Festival lineup is Saxophone Summitt including Joe Lavano, Ravi Coltrane and Dave Liebman. Also, playing are the Brubeck Brothers and Dianne Reeves. More will be announced, later.

The Jazz Festival was held on June 23 and 24, 2007 in Saratoga Springs, New York. This annual attraction and event Jazz lovers enjoy attending. The festival is held at the beautiful Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

The great lineup of musicians who performed included on Sat. June 23rd: George Benson, Indi.arie, David Sanborn, Tower of Power, Jean Luc Ponty, Roy Haynes Quartet, Jacob Freed Jazz Odyssey and more.

Sunday, June 24th: Al Green, Norman Brown's Summer Storm including Peabo Bryson, Jeff Lorber and Marion Meadows. Ravi Coltrane Quartet, Carl Allen and New Spirit, Dizzie Gillespie tm all star big band including Slide Hampton, Roberto Gambanini, James Moody, Jimmy Heath and more.

Saratoga Hotels - Save up to 50% By clicking this link you can also acquire "Name your own price" lodging.

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One of my favorite George Benson and Chris Botti's CDs are shown near the bottom of the page.

At the 2006 festival, I was pleasantly suprised by Smokey Robinson. He did a great job. He played his favorites with lots of energy plus he did some classic jazz standards including "Fly me to the moon" and "Night and Day" in the way they ought to be done. Arturo Sandoval fired the crowd up with his latin jazz pieces. He followed Smokey's show so he had to raise the temperature.
At the festival, they had a wonderful arts attraction and crafts tent. Some of it was jazz art.

The musicians who played in 2006:
Smokey Robinson, Jamie Cullum, Herbie Hancock, Arturo Sandoval, Tierney Sutton,
“Groovin for Grover” (Washington) including Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright, & Jeff Lorber, and More.

Etta James, Stanley Clarke and George Duke, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, James Carter,
Susan Tedeschi and More.

About a 100 yards or more from the stage is a Gazebo where other groups play. Here played Edmar Castaneda, SKP and the Shaggy Roller, John Stetch, Rubin Eubanks and others.

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Headliners in 2004 and 2005:

2005 musicians included: Steps Ahead, McCoy Tyner, Jazz Attack featuring Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, Richard Elliot and Peter White, John Pizzarelli Quartet, Al Jarreau, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Cassandra Wilson, Boney James, Trio! and Chris Botti .

2004 Saratoga Jazz Festival headliners were Peter Cincotti, Bela Fleck and Herbie Hancock.

Hi Fellow Jazz Lovers, The Saratoga Jazz festival is just a nice place to hang out at. The music is great. People are usually in a pretty good and relaxed mood. I usually get my seat under the SPAC shell. I enjoy being outside, walking around, mingling but having a ticket under the shell covers me in case of rain. If you get a chance after the festival please drop me a line on how you liked it. Thanks, Ron

Saratoga Performing Arts Center also offers other festivals, concerts and events each year including:

Saratoga Chamber Music Festival starts July 31, 2007.

Lake George Opera Opened June 27, 2007 in Lake George about 30 minutes from Saratoga visit one of the Lake George museums which celebrates the life of a famous Opera star.

Enjoy ballet by the New York City Ballet which goes from July 3, thru July 21, 2007.

Wine & Food Festival Sept. 6-8, 2007.

Here is a link to the arts center's website: Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Looking for something to eat in the area? There are more than a few restaurants in Saratoga.

Looking for lodging in Saratoga? There are some fine Bed and Breakfasts to choose from.

There are a variety of museums in Saratoga Springs including Saratoga Museum of Dance , Children's museum at Saratoga, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Saratoga Auto Museum, New York State Military Museum, Petrified Sea Gardens, The Saratoga Springs History Museum and Saratoga historical sites to visit during your vacation.

I am not affiliated with SPAC but a lover of Jazz and hope that this page brings more people to this wonderful Saratoga Jazz festival.

The New Orleans Jazz Festival will have another great event this year including Dr. John, Harry Connick Jr., Norah Jones, Van Morrison, Allen Toussaint, Jerry Lee Lewis and more.

Having this festival is a wonderful way to show that a great city is coming back.

Not far from Saratoga is the Lake George Jazz Festival. This event is free and will occur September 15-16, 2007. You can enjoy it right by the lake.

There are also other festivals within driving range of central New York in the Finger Lakes region: Syracuse Jazz Festival , Glenora Jazz greats and The Rochester Jazz Festival.

The Syracuse and the Rochester Festivals are in June. In 2006 the Fifth Annual Rochester International Jazz Festival opened on June 9th, 2006 with Woody Allen and his New Orleans jazz band who did a benefit concert for the New Orleans Musicians hurricane Relief Fund.
Other artists included James Brown, The Godfather of Soul ( Sad news: James Brown died December 25, 2006.), Phil Woods, Toots Thielemans, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Etta James and more.

The 2007 Rochester Jazz Festival will be held June 8-16 2007. If you like straight-ahead jazz then you will love it. They will have a rocker there though: Jerry Lee Lewis on June 9th. Their jazz stars include Dave Brubeck, Wynton Marsalis, Jean Luc Ponty, Madeleine Peyroux, Dr. John, Randy Brecker, Eldar, Bill Frisell, Benny Golson, Solomon Burke, Raul Midon and many more.

Glenora has their "Jazz Greats" concerts on a Sunday in July and August. They are south of Geneva on Route 14 in Dundee. In 2007 Jeff Golub and Warren Hill performed. In August of 2006, The Rippingtons played their celebrating 20 years of playing music. They put on a wonderful show.