January JazzFest Spotlights New York’s Top Emerging Band, Organ Fairchild

The Seneca Savings January JazzFest will occur on Saturday, January 25, at Mohegan Manor, Baldwinsville’s historic multi-story event venue. This annual “fun-raiser,” which supports CNY Jazz’s educational pipeline programs, will showcase seasoned New York music scene veterans alongside emerging talent, highlighted Buffalo’s Organ Fairchild.

January JazzFest

For the first time since its debut in 2011, the event will be held on a Saturday instead of its traditional Sunday slot.

The festivities start at 1 p.m. and last until 8 p.m. with continuous music of all kinds on every level of the iconic Seneca River destination. Each floor sports a distinct style and theme.   

“We’ve changed things up a lot this year, in terms of the breadth and popularity of our lineup, even more eclectic in terms of styles and excitement, to create a real party vibe. We have new support from Ryan Millard of Coldwell Banker, which allows us to invest more in this year’s headliner, Organ Fairchild, the band with possibly the most amusing name in the business. Seriously though, they are possibly the funkiest new group on the scene, breaking attendance records border to border upstate. We can’t wait for their appearance here, their first festival show in Central New York.”

Larry Luttinger, CNY Jazz founder and Executive Director

In addition to title sponsor Seneca Saving and Mohegan Manor, additional support for the fundraiser comes from OneGroup, Scott Northrup State Farm Agency, Riccelli Trucking, Hearth Cabinets & More, Wenger J.R. Clancy, and media sponsors WAER-FM, Dinosaur Radio, Eagle News, and CNY Latino.

The unique jazz-funk-jam Organ Fairchild has been described as a mixture of Soulive, Medeski Martin & Wood, the Grateful Dead, Steely Dan, and the Meters. The Buffalo News has described them as “What it might sound like if Jimmy Smith and Grant Green were leading a jam band at Bonnaroo.”

The remainder of the 7-hour continuous music lineup includes Edgar Pagan’s GPL Lite with guest Adam Fisher, the leader of Count Blastula; the Jimmy Johns Trio, and a new and adventurous “Plus One” format curated by pianist Dan Pugh, pairing him with other regional luminaries including guitarist-vocalist Mile Serafim, singer Dan Fields, and bassist Joey Arcuri for impromptu one-on-one duos on the hour, with Pugh at the grand piano in the downstairs club room.

This year’s concluding CNY Jazz Alumni Jam is organized by Pat Duca, current lead alto saxophonist in the CNY Jazz Youth Orchestra. He’ll be calling up his peers, prize former students of the organization’s many educational programs of all ages, to mix it up until the evening concludes at 8 p.m.

Throughout the day, prizes and raffles will be held, and food will be available at an extra charge. All proceeds support the educational programs of CNY Jazz, which develops top young talent from the city schools and the surrounding region. No student in need pays tuition to a CNY Jazz program.

Parking is free, and attendees receive wristbands to allow re-entry to the event.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, and are now on sale at cnyjazz.org/tickets. Mohegan Manor is located at 58 Oswego St, Baldwinsville.

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