Lineup Announced for 2019
CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival
18th Edition
9 Days – June 21 to 29
20 Venues – 320+ Shows Including
Record 100+ Free Shows & Events
Map
Rochester, NY—March 19, 2019— 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.

F rom 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, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra plays Peter & The Wolf, Paa Kow, Bill Frisell Trio, Downchild Blues Band 50th Anniversary Tour featuring Dan Akroyd, Gilad Hekelsman, Scott Robinson, Tamar Korn & Kornucopia, Michael Winograd & The Honorable Mentshn, Harold Mabern, 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

Headliner tickets are on sale now at RochesterJazz.com
June 21 – Steve Gadd Band – $103 / $83 / $63 / $43 + service charges
June 22 – Patti LaBelle – $115 / $105 / $85 / $70 + service charges
June 25 – Marc Cohn and the Blind Boys of Alabama – $84 / $74 / $54 / $34 + service charges
June 26 – Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra – $115 / $105 / $85 / $70 + service charges
June 27 – George Benson – $123 / $93 / $73 / $53 + service charges
June 28 – Steve Miller Band with Special Guests Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives – $161 / $151 / $131 / $91 + service charge

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. Buy online here.
  • 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.
2019 Full Lineup
Editors: High res photos of artists are available in the Press Room .

78 RPM Big Band, Acoustic Alchemy, Adam Ben Ezra, Al Chez & the Brothers Of Funk, All in Brass Band, Allman Betts Band, Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters, Ambassadors Jazztet, Andrea Brachfeld and Insight, Andrea Koziol and Bill Brennan, Audrey Ochoa, Bill Charlap, Bill Dobbins, Bill Frisell Trio, Bill Tiberio Band, Bob Sneider's ECMS Jazz Performance Workshops, Bonerama, Brad Gordon, Brecker Plays Rovatti, Bria Skonberg, Brockport Big Band, Catherine Russell, Celebrating Art Blakey with the SNJO Sextet, Cha Wa, Christine Tobin, Circus No. 9, Cyro Baptista, Dave Glasser Quartet, Dawn Thomson’s Imagine That, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, DH's Random Control, Dirty Bourbon Blues Band, Djabe, Downchild Blues Band 50 th  Anniversary Tour featuring Dan Aykroyd, Durham County Poets, Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra, Eastman-RCSC Jazz Ensemble & Mike Kaupa Junior Jazz Workshop, Elda Trio, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Empire Strikes Brass, Empirical, Enemy, Eastman School of Music Jazz Honors Performance Units, Funk Nut, Gary Versace Duo, Gene Perla Quartet, George Benson, George Coleman Quartet, Gilad Hekselman, Girls in Airports, Greece Jazz Band, Greg Humphreys Electric Trio, Grupo IFE, Harold Danko, Harold Mabern and Harold Mabern Trio, Heather Bambrick, High School Jazz Bands, Ian Shaw, Itamar Borochov Quartet, Jake Shimabukuro, Janice Friedman, Jared Schonig and Friends, Jazz On Film: RIJF-ESM Scholarship Night plus Special Guest Dave Glasser, Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Jennifer Hartswick and Nick Cassarino, Jimmie Highsmith Jr., Joey DeFrancesco, John Fedchock NY Sextet, John Pizzarelli Trio, Jon Stickley Trio, Jostein Guldbransen, Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley, Junior High Jazz Ensemble, Kandace Springs, Kansas Smitty's House Band, Kari, Ikonen, Kit Downes, Laura Dubin Trio Plays West Side Story, Leo Richardson Quartet, Lionel Loueke and Raul Midon, Marc Cohn and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Matthew Whitaker, Michael Winograd and the Honorable Mensch, Mikkel Ploug “Faroe", Music Educators Big Band, Nat King Cole at 100 with Paul Marinaro, New Energy Jazz Orchestra, New Horizons Big Band Directed by Priscilla Todd Brown, New Horizons Vintage Jazz Band Directed by Don Sherman, Nubya Garcia, Over the Rhine, Ozmosys, Paa Kow, Paris_Monster, Patti LaBelle, Paul McCandless and Charged Particles, Penfield Rotary Band, Peter Johnstone and Tommy Smith, Prime Time Brass Band, Richie Goods, Rob Tardik, Rochester Metro Jazz Orchestra, Ron Artis II & The Truth, Roosevelt Collier, Russell Scarborough Soul Jazz Big Band, Sasha Berliner 5 Rooms/Vibes, Scott Robinson Quartet, Scott Sharrard, Shamarr Allen True Orleans, Sisters Euclid, SNJO, Sonios Unidos, Soul Stew, Soul Passenger, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Spaga, Stefon Harris Blackout, Steve Gadd Band, Steve Miller Band plus special guests Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Steven Taetz, Sullivan Fortner Trio, Syndicate Jazz Band, Tamar Korn and Kornucopia, Teagan and the Tweeds, The Aquaducks, The Campbell Brothers, The Honey Smugglers, The Klick, The Subdudes, The Suitcase Junket, The Willows, The Yellowjackets, Thomas Backman, Trish Clowes My Iris, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Tuomo Uusitalo Quartet, Under One Sun, United States Army Jazz Ambassadors, Veronica Swift, VickiKristinaBarcelona, Vilray, Vincent Peirani, Western Centuries, Yuri Honing Quartet, and the Zion Hill Mass Choir.
Venues
HEADLINER SERIES VENUE
Kodak Hall at Eastm an Theatre, 2 6 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.) 
###
2019 Sponsors & Partners
ABOUT THE CGI ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
The  CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival  is one of the world’s leading jazz festivals. From legendary performers and familiar favorites, to rising stars and new discoveries, the Festival navigates all genres of creative improvised music from all corners of the world. 

Founded in 2002 in Rochester, NY, the multi-dimensional nine-day Festival is held annually in downtown Rochester, NY and presents more than 1500 artists from around the world in 320+ shows at 20 venues. Attendance has grown from 15,000 in 2002 to 208,000 in 2018. Economic impact delivered to the region now exceeds $180 million. In addition to a headliner series and Club Pass Series of 220+ shows, the festival also presents 100+ free shows and events including nightly jam sessions and jazz workshops. The Festival's jazz scholarship program has awarded almost $500,000 in scholarships to 40 students entering Eastman School of Music.  Read more

CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival  is produced by RIJF, LLC, a privately held company owned by John Nugent and Marc Iacona. Nugent, Producer and Artistic Director, is a noted tenor sax player, who has traveled the world with many jazz artists including Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, The Woody Herman Orchestra and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Marc Iacona, Producer and Executive Director, is a Rochester native and President of Simcona Electronics. A business and community leader, he is an avid trumpeter and supporter of the arts.