The festival has featured some of the most prolific artists in the history of jazz over the years, and this year is no different as festival promoters have put together another superstar lineup filled with jazz greats over the course of the two day event that takes place June 28 and 29.

Among the highlights at this year’s festival is a performance by pioneering jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever—whose performance at the Freihofer’s Jazz Festival will be their only U.S. jazz festival date.      

“We are thrilled to offer fans in attendance the opportunity to see the highly anticipated reunion of Return to Forever,” Marcia White, SPAC President and Executive Director, said.

The band reunited for a brief tour in 1983, but has not performed together since. They officially kicked off their reunion tour on May 29 in Austin, Texas. The tour will feature more than 50 dates throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. They are scheduled to perform the jazz fest in the amphitheatre on Saturday, June 28.

Another highly anticipated headliner at this year’s festival will be trumpeter, arranger, bandleader, film-score composer and Grammy winner Terence Blanchard who will be on hand performing songs from his recent Grammy award-winning album “A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina),” which was inspired by his “experiences of hardship and hope in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.”

Songs on the album range from “Dear Mom,” a tribute to his mother who lost her home in the hurricane and “Funeral Dirge,” a tribute to those who lost their lives in the disaster, not to mention various other topical songs revolving around the affects of Hurricane Katrina.

“Requiem tells the story that needs to be heard so that people will continue to talk about what happened after Katrina,” Blanchard has stated in response to his creation of the album.

Blanchard and his quintet will be performing the festival Sunday, June 29—the band will also perform selections from “A Tale of God’s Will.”

Other artist featured at this year’s jazz festival include trumpet sensation Chris Botti, jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves, 19-year old jazz pianist Jonathan Batiste and Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famers the O’Jays, among many other of today’s premier jazz artists.

“We have a really exciting line-up this year,” White said. “It’s a celebration of jazz in its truest sense”

Aside from a lineup of world class musicians, this year’s festival will once again feature the popular craft tent, which will showcase an array of high-end paintings, jewelry and hand made crafts from local vendors. Local painter Tom Myott designed this year’s jazz fest logo and will be hand to auction off the original painting and reproductions of it as well.

“It was exciting to have the opportunity to design this year’s jazz logo because I have been showcasing my fine art at the festival over the past few years,” Myott said. “I think it’s going to be something that adds another dimension to the festival.”

Last year the two day festival drew more than 14,000 jazz enthusiasts from across the Northeast. White said that over the years the festival has been a huge economic draw for the city and many of the hotels in the area are booked well in advance of the annual event.

“The Jazz Festival has become a place that people have made a priority to include in their summer plans,” White said. “It has been a great place for people to connect with family and build relationships with new found friends—it’s like a family reunion.”

Tickets are now on sale at the SPAC box office and are range between $41.50 - $62.50 for adults and $5 - $52 for children. To learn more about the Freihofer’s Jazz Festival and other great events happening at SPAC this summer, visit: www.spac.org.