The Fredonia Jazz Society was established in 2018 to provide live performance, educational opportunities, and support for the community's musicians and fans. Below is a summary of past events, followed by a narrative about the history of jazz in Fredonia.

JAZZ AT DOMUS FARE: Special guest artists are bolded.

  • September 13, 2018: Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, Alec Dube, drums

  • November 1, 2018: Mark Filsinger, trumpet, Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, Alec Dube, drums

  • February 21, 2019: Alec Dube, vibraphone, Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, Greg Evans, drums

  • April 25, 2019: Dave Schiavone, saxophone and flute, Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, Alec Dube, drums

  • September 12, 2019: Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, Alec Dube, drums and vibraphone

  • November 7, 2019: “i3°” (Thirteen Degrees): Nick Weiser, piano, Nicholas Walker, bass, Greg Evans, drums

  • February 27, 2020: Diego Figueiredo, guitar, Nick Weiser, piano, Joe Goehle, bass, Alec Dube, drums

  • February 17, 2022: Kim Nazarian, voice, Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, John Bacon, drums

  • March 31, 2022: Brad Leali, saxophone, Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, John Bacon, drums

  • October 20, 2022: Ingrid Jensen, trumpet, with “i3°”

  • December 8, 2022: Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, John Bacon, drums, Elliot Scozzaro, saxophone)

  • February 23, 2023: George Caldwell, piano, Paul LaDuca, bass, John Bacon, drums, Elliot Scozzaro, tenor sax, Mark Filsinger, trumpet, Alex McArthur, voice.

  • March 23, 2023: Derrick Gardner, trumpet, Alec Safy, bass. Nick Weiser, piano, Elliot Scozzaro, sax.

  • April 13, 2023: Marko Marcinko, drums. With Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass.

  • May 11, 2023: Diego Figueiredo, guitar, and Ken Peplowski, clarinet and tenor sax.

  • October 19, 2023: Nick Finzer, trombone, Miki Yamanaka, piano, Raul Reyes, bass, T.J.Reddick, drums.

  • December 7, 2023: Nick Weiser, piano, Kieran Hanlon, bass, John Bacon, drums, Elliot Scozzaro, saxophone).

LIVE STREAM: (November 2020) Nick Weiser, piano, Joe Goehle, bass, John Bacon, drums, Elliot Scozzaro, saxophone, August Bates and Matthew Erman, saxophones (2019 student competition winners)

FREDONIA JAZZ FESTIVAL:

  • September 25-26, 2021: Jazz Bands of Brocton, Clymer, and Fredonia High Schools, Fredonia University Jazz Orchestra, Dave Golando Quintet (Golando, sax, Mark Filsinger, tpt, Ian Liedke, pno, Ed Croft, bs, Joe Goretti, dr), Bobby MIlitello Quartet with Alex McArthur (Militello, sax, Bobby Jones, pno, Joe Goehle, bs, John Bacon, Jr., drums. Alex McArthur, voice); i3° (Nick Weiser, pno, Nicholas Walker, bs, Eric Metzgar, dr); Delfeayo Marsalis, tbn (headliner).

  • October 20-21, 2023: Alumni Jazz Band; Fredonia University Jazz Orchestra; Morgan Street Stompers (Gordon Webster, pno, John Curry, bs, John Bacon, dr, Tim Clarke, cornet, Brendan Lanighan, tbn, Peggy Farrel, vocals); Deanna Witkowski, pno; SaxTime (Saxes: Dave Golando, Mike Teager, Vince Cirallo, Mike Ihde, and Laura Anderson.  Joe Baudo, pno, Mark Harris, bs, John Anderson, dr) Inner City Bedlam (David Jonathan, dr, Armani Works, pno, Alex Overton, bs, Oscar Woodrich, gtr, Tyler James, org, Rob Huff, perc); Nick Weiser Sextet (Weiser, pno, Kieran Hanlon, bs, John Bacon, dr, Elliot Scozzaro, sax, Mark Filsinger, tpt, Brendan Lanighan, tbn); Nicole Zuraitis Quartet (headliner: Zuraitis, voice/piano, Idan Morim, gtr, Sam Weber, bs, Dan Pugach, dr).

THE HISTORY OF JAZZ IN FREDONIA dates back to the early swing era, and much of it emanates from the university's campus.  Jazz got its start here by students taking it upon themselves to create something that the well-known School of Music didn't yet offer.  One may hear from time to time about past animosity between the music school and the students' interest in jazz, but that isn't wholly accurate.  The students who liked jazz were rightly proud of what they created on their own while the school stayed focused on a curriculum emphasizing classical music and teacher education.  The aims, though contrasting, were symbiotic, and the two have shared a storied history together for decades.

A student association named the Fredonia Jazz Workshop (FJW) was formed in 1934 as a way to provide a dance band for social events.  Essentially, the ensemble from FJW was a busy, gigging band; jazz was by far the most popular musical style throughout the golden age of swing, and the big bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman consistently topped the charts.  By the 1950s, as the swing era gradually gave way to rock 'n' roll, jazz increasingly became a listener's music, and for some, a musician's music.  Adventurous new styles -- Latin, bebop, cool, free, etc. -- earned new followers. As jazz became more serious, so did the Fredonia Jazz Workshop.

The 1970s and '80s were good to the FJW.  It attracted students to Fredonia specifically to be part of the experiment.  They were fine players who wanted a chance to write music, arrange charts, and compete. The student bands often won top honors, as they did at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival for both composing and performance in 1975, '76, and '77 -- three years in a row.  Many of these students went on into significant careers in music as teachers, composers or players, having benefitted from the mentorship of each other and from the first-rate artists from whom they were able to learn.  

In recent years, the alumni from the '70s and '80s have regularly come back to campus, embracing the opportunity to work with the younger set of students who are currently part of the Fredonia Jazz Workshop.  Jazz gradually became more common within the School of Music, and courses in the subject increased in popularity.  Professors Harry Jacobson and Linda Phillips, skilled with jazz themselves, advocated for such opportunities.  By the late '90s, new faculty -- including John Bacon, a Buffalo jazz percussionist, and Bruce Johnstone, a baritone saxophonist well-known as a member of the Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman big bands -- gave all students an opportunity in jazz, no matter their background or instrument.  Therefore, big bands, small combos of odd instrumentation, Latin groups, vocal jazz, and a jazz string orchestra all thrived, making jazz more mainstream in the school.  

Finally in 2014, the faculty agreed to make jazz an official track as a major, and this enabled the hiring of additional specialists in jazz.  The future is likely to point to an ever greater commitment to jazz on campus.  The Fredonia Jazz Society links the campus asset to the community for the benefit of all the citizens of the area.

Fredonia is shaped by local creativity.  Nearly a quarter of the students enrolled at the State University of New York at Fredonia study the arts, and area summer camps bring participants of all ages to study music, theatre, improvisation and more.  At the Opera House downtown, the community enjoys the annual Opera Workshop performances, the Bach and Beyond Festival, and regular Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts.  Only a short distance from Fredonia are all the cultural assets of Jamestown, the Chautauqua Institution, Westfield, Buffalo and more.  Positioned halfway between Erie, PA and Buffalo, NY, Fredonia is in the middle of it all.

Just a few of the highly accomplished musicians emanating from the Fredonia Jazz Workshop.

  • Tony Caramia: piano, Eastman School of Music

  • John Coggiola: trumpet, Syracuse University

  • Calabria Foti: violin, voice

  • Marcus Goldhaber: vocalist, producer

  • Joe Gransden: trumpet, voice, Tommy Dorsey

  • Onaje Alan Gumbs: piano

  • Bill Heller: piano, Rippingtons

  • Bob McChesney: trombone

  • Joe Magnarelli: trumpet, Lionel Hampton

  • Don Menza: saxophone 

  • Emilio Palame: piano, writer, producer 

  • Howie Shear: trumpet, Woody Herman