Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival celebrates George Benson

In September 1945, Leon Hefflin Sr. brought the first jazz music festival to the masses at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. Cavalcade of Jazz was an opportunity for music lovers of all stripes to join together and enjoy the sounds of legendary musicians.

“His reason for starting it was to bring the races together,” said Janice Burley, president and CEO of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center and creator of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. “Imagine 1945 — what was going on in 1945 — this was his way of bringing people together.”

As part of this year’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Hefflin’s granddaughter will appear with artifacts from Cavalcade of Jazz to discuss her grandfather’s legacy.

But Pittsburghers needn’t stretch too far to find jazz legends of their own. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has compiled a playlist of essential local jazz musicians. The final name on their list — George Benson — will play an especially large part in this year’s International Jazz Festival.

“Friday, we get ready for our big kickoff at the August Wilson Center and we have a concert that we’re doing … a tribute to George Benson,” Burley said. A number of other jazz guitarists, including Dan Wilson and Jonathan Butler, will participate in the tribute. Benson is also the recipient of this year’s Luminary Award. That concert will be held at 8 p.m. Friday at the August Wilson Center in Downtown Pittsburgh.

“He can’t travel to Pittsburgh, so we’re sending it to him. He’s in his 80s now,” Burley added.

Even before the big Friday kickoff, the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival will live up to its name with a Thursday “Jazz Train” trip from Manhattan to Pittsburgh. Hosted by pianist Orrin Evans, the train will allow passengers to enjoy live jazz performances while they make the trek.

Friday night will bring the Taste of Jazz party at the August Wilson Center. “It’s something we’ve been doing since 2016,” Burley said.

Attendees will get a taste of different types of music — from jazz to R&B to dance — but also a taste of about 18 local restaurants that will provide bites for the soiree.

Saturday and Sunday will find Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh flooded with music and spectators from all over the world.

“We have concerts from 11 a.m. until about 10 o’clock at night,” Burley said. The schedule is similar on Sunday.

To fuel the days of music, the festival will include plenty of food trucks, as well as a beer garden. The International StrEAT Festival will be held both days on Smithfield Street between Seventh Avenue and Strawberry Way.

Festival musicians will join together for a big jam session on Saturday night, pulling together from many musical genres and traditions — jazz, R&B, Caribbean, blues — to hang out and play together.

Burley has been running the festival since its beginning in 2011, and she’s watched it grow year over year ever since — even during the pandemic, when they moved to a virtual event.

“The first time we did it, we didn’t know what to expect. It was mostly local people. … And then every year, it grew a little bit more,” she said.

She added that they’ve seen crowds of 50,000 people standing in front of stages in recent years, packed with people who travel from places both near and far to enjoy jazz in a city with a robust scene.

“There are so many musicians who are from Pittsburgh that really impacted or revolutionized the way people play. And we have so many that live and work in Pittsburgh,” Burley said.

The festival also gives friends and colleagues a chance to see each other after a year away. “Some have come every year for years,” she said. “Now they bring their friends and they bring their families. … It’s always just a big reunion.”

To learn more about the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, visit pittsburghjazzfest.org.