JANIS BURLEY WILSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE AUGUST WILSON AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER, IS CREDITED WITH CREATING THE PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL.
This year’s festival dates: Sept. 14-17; and new this year, a ‘Jazz Train’
Jazz and Pittsburgh are synonymous.
You just can’t have one without the other.
Ahmad Jamal. Mary Lou Williams. Erroll Garner. Billy Strayhorn. Kenny Clarke. Art Blakey. Stanley Turrentine. George Benson.
The list goes on and on, as Pittsburgh, pound for pound, has produced as many impactful and influential artists in jazz as any other American city.
Which is why the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival is vital, and growing every year. Once Downtown, the festival has moved to Highmark Stadium on the South Side, home of the Pittsburgh soccer team, the Riverhounds. Yes, it’s taken a stadium-like atmosphere to hold all the artists and spectators that are now involved in the festival.
The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that this year’s festival will take place, Sept. 14-17.
“There is no question that jazz is the language of Pittsburgh,” said Janis Burley Wilson, President & CEO of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, in a statement. “But it also is engaged in a global dialogue, one that transcends race, class and upbringing. And it is so moving to be able to invite jazz lovers to Pittsburgh for this annual festival, to be part of the history—and the future— of these musical and cultural conversations.”
MADISON MCFERRIN
On Thursday, Sept. 14, “Uhuru Jazz Sessions” will take place at 9 p.m. featuring Samora Pinderhughes and Madison McFerrin. The event will be held at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Downtown.
On Friday, Sept. 15, the “Taste of Jazz” party will also be held at the AWAACC, beginning at 9 p.m. Dancing, food, beverages, the music of Jonathan Barber, DJ Selecta, and other enticements will be featured.
JIMMY JAM & TERRY LEWIS
On Saturday, Sept. 16, the festival moves to Highmark Stadium. Beginning at 1 p.m. until 10 p.m., patrons will be treated to the sounds of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, PJ Morton, Orrin Evans, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Emmet Cohen & Houston Person, Howie Alexander, and Christie Dashiell.
HOWIE ALEXANDER
As the saying goes, “After the show, it’s the after-party,” so there will be a “Jam Session” on Saturday night, Sept. 15, featuring Orrin Evans & The Imani Allstars, from 10:30 p.m. until 1 a.m., at the AWAACC.
KEYON HARROLD
The final day of the festival, Sunday, Sept. 17, will feature Gregory Porter, Keyon Harrold with Pharoahe Monch & Mumu Fresh, Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter, José James, Chelsea Baratz, and Somi.
SOMI
Other performers could be added to any of the dates at Highmark Stadium or the AWAACC. The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival is presented by Citizens. Tickets to the festival are available to PIJF members now, and to the general public on Friday, May 12.
“I developed my love and appreciation for Jazz by attending concerts with my dad as a child,” Burley Wilson said in a statement. “The experience made a life-long impression on me and fueled my desire to build a career in jazz and entertainment. We hope that making live jazz more accessible and affordable has a similar effect on today’s youth.”
Pittsburgh has Burley Wilson to thank for this new generation of jazz festivals in town. She’s credited with creating the inaugural Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival for Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, as she was a longtime executive with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The 2011 version was primarily comprised of local jazz artists, held on Liberty Avenue. But each year, the festival grew, and now it’s estimated that at least 20 percent of the people who attend the festival are from outside the Pittsburgh area.
Orrin Evans, who will headline the Jam Session, is also going to host the inaugural “Jazz Train.” Amtrak is hosting a special package that includes round-trip train tickets to Pittsburgh from cities like New York, Newark and Philadelphia. Forget the sounds of “choo-choo,” these trains will have live jazz music during the trip, gift bags, light refreshments, and a shuttle bus to and from the festival. Passengers are responsible for securing hotel and festival event tickets.
Also, the 12th version of the festival, held in 2022, featured Samara Joy, an African American woman taking the jazz scene by storm. Turn the page to early 2023, and Joy won the Grammy for Best New Artist, defeating other, more popular mainstream artists like singer Muni Long and rapper Latto. It’s a reminder that you never know who you’ll see performing on stage at the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
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