Hingetown Jazz Festival 2026

Hingetown Jazz Festival
BOP STOP, Jukebox and Saucy Brew Works
Cleveland, OH
September 5, 2026

Birds flyin' high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel

Beloved Cleveland vocalist Evelyn Wright knew what she was doing when she chose "Feeling Good," the bluesy Anthony Newly song, to be the first music heard at the 2026 Hingetown Jazz Festival. September is the most glorious month in Cleveland with high skies and balmy temperatures and a soft wind off Lake Erie carried Wright's effortlessly swinging set to the lawn at the Bop Stop.

This free festival, now four years old, has a relaxed vibe, and a  locavore sensibility. All 10 bands were drawn from the northeast Ohio scene, and because the three venues are no more than a two-minute walk apart, it was possible in theory to catch at least a bit of each of the performances on the staggered schedule.

Dashing to Saucy Brew Works provided just enough time to hear a group from Kent State University, the first of Hingetown's four student ensembles, dig in to Sam Rivers' "Beatrice" before crossing the street for newcomer Jennifer James' trio set. She began with a deep cut, "A Gal In Calico," on the outdoor patio at Jukebox, a music-themed neighborhood hangout. This is not a tune you would expect twenty-something players to know. James later expressed admiration for Oscar Peterson's version, but her airy swing evoked Ahmad Jamal's. The setlist with fellow Cleveland State University faculty members, Chris Vance on bass and drummer Bill Ransom, might have skewed traditional on paper, but James' backbeat chart on "Invitation" and samba treatment of "Pure Imagination" were pure charm.

Back at Saucy Brew Works, saxophonist Max Schlenk, not too many years out of school himself, led a small group of Cleveland State University students through extrovert readings of "I Hear A Rhapsody" and "Up Jumped Spring" to the delight of a crowd that spilled onto the sidewalk. Alex Washington's vibes and Schlenk's excursions far from the harmony lent an "Out To Lunch" tang to the setlist.

The last of the student groups, from the University of Akron, was small enough to fit under the inverted half-pipe covering the Jukebox patio. Led by tenor saxophonist Sam Ross, a UA graduate student, it featured a two-saxophone front line with Cole Kiser, whose alto saxophone solo on "Stablemates" was startlingly accomplished. The kid can write, too. His "Ho-o," named for the phoenix-like bird in Japanese mythology, wound a long, unison melody across bar lines, hiding the "one." Kiser's soft initial attack showed a Miguel Zenon influence—an ambitious model for a young alto player who seems well on his way.

Saxophonist Justin Tibbs leads one of northeast Ohio's tightest bands, JT's Electrik Blackout. Great bands start with great drummers and Holbrook Riles III was a relentless, punch-and-roll groove machine on the backline. Akron vocalist Rachel Osherow recalled the early days of the M-BASE collective with her acrobatic turn on two Tibbs originals, in a thoroughly satisfying and professional set.

At Jukebox, the electrified, energetic set by saxophonist Steve Kortyka's chordless Rewired trio answered the eternal question of where to find the new standards. In Kortyka's contemporary canon were Mazzy Starr ("Look On Down From The Bridge"), Aphex Twin ("Flim"), Radiohead ("Black Star") and George Harrison ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), all of which received readings that crackled with energy. Darren Frate's athletic P-bass lines were appropriately prominent on this groove-forward material and Zaire Darden kept the temperature high on what was the festival's most interesting set.

Geographical compression notwithstanding, catching ten sets in eight hours entails some concessions. So the Saucy performance by a group from Cuyahoga County Community College was forgone, and the set by veteran saxophonist John Klayman's strings-plus-rhythm Prism band turned out to be dinner music heard from a table inside BOP STOP. Next year, perhaps?

Grace Blackford describes herself as a singer/songwriter with R&B influences. There's more than a little Norah Jones in her sound and approach. Was it jazz? Who cares? With her guitarist husband Ricardo Morales Vivero and James on keyboards and especially Darden's understatedly supportive drumming, Blackford's sundown set had the offhand sparkle of beloved sessions backed by classic '70s studio bands. As the sun set over the lake beyond the BOP STOP's lawn seating, Blackford's set painted the Festival's easygoing vibe in watercolors.

A new dawn, a new day. Feeling good.