Every year, the Saratoga Jazz Festival at Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a clear highlight of the summer season and indeed the entire year’s concert lineup. The 2025 edition (with new sponsor GE Vernova) was no different.
(June 28) Review by Ross Marvin / Photos by Pat Rogers for NYS Music
(l-r) Corcoran Holt and Kenny Garrett at SPAC (June 28, 2025) – photo by Pat Rogers for NYS Music
Sometimes, I guess you save the best for first.
Garrett’s six piece band kicked off the festival’s main stage in Saturday and may well be the blue ribbon performance of the entire weekend.
A lot of us in the crowd were unsure if Garrett performed early so he could get a soundcheck, so he could get to another gig, or if he was strategically scheduled in that slot to get some butts in the seats early.
Relying heavily on cuts from his 2021 record Sounds From the Ancestors (Mack Avenue), the alto saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master covered a lot of territory in his hour-plus set. From spiritual jazz to African and Cuban-influenced pieces, Garrett also drew heavily on the sounds of John Coltrane. In 2025, Coltrane remains the supreme jazz ancestor for good reason. Garrett’s plaintive wailing and teases of “A Love Supreme” caught the audience’s attention. The saxophonist’s percussive playing style was matched by the equally large sound of Billy Hart-protege Michael Ode on drums.
– Ross Marvin for NYS Music
(June 29) Review and Photos by Ross Marvin for NYS Music
Trombone Shorty (center), Mike Ballard (left) and Pete Murano (right) of Orleans Avenue at SPAC (June 29, 2025) – photo by Ross Marvin for NYS Music
Perhaps the highlight of the entire festival was the band’s “When the Saints Go Marching In” which of course turned into a New Orleans-style second line. Andrews led his band off the stage and around the walkways of the amphitheater. Even the ushers gave up on preventing cell phone photos and videos because seeing these guys wail on their brass instruments from a few feet away was way too cool and had to be documented.
– Ross Marvin for NYS Music
Review by Kirsten Ferguson for the Daily Gazette
DJ Logic: “Miles Away.” It’s not often that a turntablist takes center stage at the Saratoga Jazz Festival — or often enough, anyway. The turntable wizard brought a deep bag of tricks and a crew of stellar collaborators, including saxophonist Emilio Modeste, harmonica player Gregoire Maret and Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista (who also performed with Cassandra Wilson). This tribute to “Bitches Brew”-era Miles Davis gets a bit skronky at times — good for a post-fireworks chill-out.
– Kirsten Ferguson for the Daily Gazette
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