FREE: SPAC Announces New “Live at the Jazz Bar” Series

Photograph by Andrzej Pilarczyk

Elizabeth Sobol, the new President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, continues to make intriguing and exciting new innovations to SPAC.

There’s the free Caffe Lena @ SPAC concert series at SPAC’s Gazebo Stage, which kicks off on Sunday, June 11. And there’s the SPAC on Stage concert series slated for August.

The latest addition to SPAC’s performance season is the “Live at the Jazz Bar” sessions, which will take place in the Hall of Springs on seven evenings during the classical season. The hours for the live music events will be 9:30-11:30pm. Admission is free, and a ticket to the evening’s SPAC amphitheater performance is not required for entry. The dates are Tuesday, July 11; Saturday, July 15; Wednesday, August 2; Saturday, August 5; Wednesday, August 9; Saturday, August 12 and Friday, August 18.

In addition to a cash bar, a menu of craft cocktails, tapas and light dining options from Mazzone Hospitality will also be available.

“One of the most exciting discoveries of my first tour of SPAC and its facilities was the elegant Jazz Bar, within the Hall of Springs,” says Sobol. “With its inviting stone fireplaces and expansive mahogany bar, I envisioned creating an after-hours, live music lounge, evocative of the jazz era that was flourishing when the Hall of Springs was built. That experience is what the Live at the Jazz Bar series will offer – an environment for relaxing, socializing and enjoying great music.”

Among the bands scheduled to perform at the Jazz Bar are:

HOT CLUB OF SARATOGA: Greater Nippertown’s premier Gypsy swing ensemble plays a repertoire that reflects the spirit and style originated by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in The Quintet of the Hot Club of France most prominent in the 1930’s and kept alive through a long line of Gypsy jazz artists since that time.

CHUCK LAMB: The stellar pianist and composer has been with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet for 14 years and has performed with the Quartet and/or his own groups as numerous renowned venues around the world including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival among others. Downbeat praised him as an “expert soloist. His original compositions are varied and exuberant. His work is exemplary.”

ALTA HAVANA: The richness and exuberance of traditional Cuban music and its many variations comes alive in the talented hands of Gerardo Contino (vocals), Itai Kriss (flute), Keisel Jimenez (percussion) and Jorge Gomez (keyboards). All highly acclaimed musicians who have performed independently and with other ensembles on major festival stages around the world, the collaboration of their unique styles is a fresh, exciting take on Cuban music.

MORE OF NIPPERTOWN’S UPCOMING FREE CONCERT EVENTS
*VARIOUS DATES
FREEDOM FESTIVAL @ Freedom Square, Troy, June 3
BUSK! @ the Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center, Saratoga Springs, June 4
ART ON LARK @ Lark Street, Albany, June 10
DADFEST @ Washington Park, Albany, June 18
NEW YORK STATE’S FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, July 4
SCHENECTADY COUNTY SUMMERNIGHT @ Broadway, Schenectady, July 14
KIDS DAY @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, July 15
BLACK ARTS & CULTURAL FESTIVAL @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, August 5
NEW YORK STATE FOOD FESTIVAL @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, August 9
JAZZ AT THE LAKE @ Shepard Park, Lake George, September 16 & 17
*WEDNESDAYS
MADE IN THE SHADE OF THE EGG @ the Empire State Plaza at The Egg, Albany, 12noon, June 7-August 30
CAPITAL CONCERT SERIES @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 5pm, June 28-July 26
ROCKIN’ ON THE RIVER @ Riverfront Park, Troy, 5pm, June 7-August 9
JAZZ NIGHTS @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 5:30pm, September 13 & 20
FREEDOM PARK CONCERT SERIES @ Freedom Park, Scotia, 7pm, June 21-August 23
*THURSDAYS
JAZZ ON JAY @ Jay Street, Schenectady, 12noon, June 1-August 31
ALIVE AT FIVE @ Corning Preserve’s Jennings Landing, Albany, 5pm, June 8-August 3
BROWN’S SUMMER SESSIONS @ Brown’s Brewing Co., Troy, 5pm, June 1-July 13
ROCK THE BLOCK @ Remsen Square, Cohoes, 6:30pm, June 8-August 10
UPBEAT ON THE ROOF @ Skidmore College’s Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs, 7pm, July 13-August 24
*SATURDAYS
FREEDOM PARK CONCERT SERIES @ Freedom Park, Scotia, 7pm, June 24-August 26
*SUNDAYS
CAFFE LENA @ SPAC @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center Gazebo, Saratoga Springs, 12noon, June 11, July 9 & August 27
MUSIC HAVEN CONCERT SERIES @ Central Park’s Music Haven, Schenectady, 7pm
FREEDOM PARK CONCERT SERIES @ Freedom Park, Scotia, 7pm, June 25-August 20