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Tag: Akron

At Rubber City Jazz & Blues Fest, A Big Night Of Big Bands

Published 8 September, 2026 By John Chacona
The Sam Blakeslee Large Group at BLU Jazz+
The Sam Blakeslee Large Group at BLU Jazz+

The 2026 Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which begins Thursday, is big: three days, five venues and 18 events. It has a big-name headliner, too in contemporary jazz master Gerald Albright who will top a double bill with Althea René at Lock 3 on Saturday, Sept. 12. But the biggest noise of the festival presented by Open Tone Music might be the one that a pair of big—or biggish—bands will make in the normally hushed confines of Akron’s Main Library.

The bands are under the leadership of trombonist and composer Sam Blakeslee, who will present music from his Large Group’s recording, New Blood, which will be released Sept. 25 on BJU Records, and Chris Coles, who has convened an 11-piece orchestra to play “The Way of The Sly Man,” a multi-part work composed by the late bassist and educator Dave Morgan.

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For Jazz Fans And Players Alike, This Week Belongs To ‘The Cats’

Published 4 August, 2026 By John Chacona

Tradition might call this week the Dog Days of Summer, but for jazz fans around northeast Ohio, it’s time for The Cats. That’s the name that serious practitioners of the art of improvised music in the Black American tradition give to the ones who can really play.

By any measure, the musicians listed below fit that description and all are on bandstands around the area this week. Here’s what you can expect:

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Meet Virginia MacDonald, A Fresh New Voice On Clarinet

Published 14 July, 2026 By John Chacona

Though clarinetist Virginia MacDonald released her debut recording In Search Of… (Cellar Music Group) only a few weeks ago, the jazz community has been quick to take notice—and well they should. It’s an assured effort shot through with ample personality, high wire virtuosity and a shrewd compositional sensibility, a delight from start to finish.

But don’t take my word for it. You can hear it for yourself Saturday when MacDonald makes her BOP STOP debut as a leader in support of the new release.

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Moises Borges And Ava Preston Renew A Charming Musical Friendship

Published 7 July, 2026 By John Chacona

On paper, Moises Borges and Ava Preston are an odd match. He’s a guitarist from Bahia, the cradle of Afro-Brazilian culture, who has been a welcome fixture on northeast Ohio’s musical scene for decades. She’s a vocalist just a couple of years out of Solon High School whose international career is just beginning.

On the bandstand, though, they’re a perfect pair, and that’s where you will find them Friday at BLU Jazz+ and Saturday at BOP STOP for what is a reunion tour of sorts.

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