The 19th Annual Jazz on Jefferson Festival • Happening June 3rd

Historic architecture, Jazz Music, and the broad cultural mix blending Saginaw together are all poised to converge as the 19^th Annual Jazz on Jefferson returns to the historical streets of Downtown Saginaw on Wednesday June 3rd to celebrate the unique neighborhoods and iconic structural design that defines the history, character and legacy of our community.

Music will blossom in the air on four blocks of Jefferson Avenue that run by the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History from 4:45 - 8:00 PM, featuring continuous performances by top local & regional jazz musicians such as The Saginaw Eddy Band, who are celebrating their 100^th Anniversary this year, the  award-winning Robert Lee Revue featuring the legendary Bobby Balderama, the gifted, Matt Corrigan,along with The Scott Tuttle Quartet performing on the back porch at The Castle Museum, who  excel at creating the sounds of old traditional jazz groups such as Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Count Basie andDuke Ellington.

“This is a year of anniversaries,” states event chairman Thomas Trombley, who is also Chief Curator at the Castle Museum and has been involved with the event since its inception. “In addition to the Saginaw Eddy Band celebrating their 100^th year, there’s several buildings on Jefferson, including the Jefferson Apartments that are celebrating centennials, so we’ll have information available that will talk about that to a degree. This is always a great event to explore the city with good food and music, plus we’ll have games on the street in front of the Castle Museum, carriage rides, and the Cathedral will be open to the public for tours. We always have some surprises planned along the way, so it will be Jazz on Jefferson with some new twists and we’re really looking forward to hopefully having perfect weather.”

In a city that has witnessed a high level of demolition of its historic architectural heritage over the decades, the six block area of South Jefferson Avenue on Saginaw's East Side has both survived and served as an important and vital center of the community - a distinctly urban core where one can discover businesses, churches, civic buildings and homes with buildings that chronicle the city's development from a lumber boomtown in the early 1850s to one of Michigan's major industrial centers, with structures that form an almost encyclopedic collection of 19th and early 20th century architectural styles, many designed by nationally prominent architects.

Amidst this splendid landscape the annual Jazz on Jefferson festival was developed back in 2003 by the Jefferson Avenue Events Committee to forge an alliance between musical and visual artists while showcasing the unique resources of South Jefferson Avenue; and to also involve and integrate the many organizations and individuals that call South Jefferson Avenue home.

The South Jefferson corridor, with its mix of churches, the Hoyt Library, the Castle Museum of Saginaw County, and private one-of-a-kind residences, is truly the sparkling showcase of this special musical extravaganza, and the corridor truly has some one-of-a-kind structures, continues Trombley.

By the early 1860s, South Jefferson had become a major thoroughfare.  At the end of the Civil War, three major brick church buildings - First Baptist Church, Jefferson Avenue United Methodist Church and First Congregational - were constructed on South Jefferson. With towers and steeples visible throughout the community, they became instant landmarks.  They announced the permanence and prosperity of East Saginaw and defined the scale of stature of South Jefferson.  One-hundred fifty years later, two of these three churches are still landmarks in the community.

“With America’s 250^th Centennial happening this year, we’re going to look closely at the 1920s, which opened with a major addition to Hoyt Library, notes Trombley. “There were also additions to First Congregational Church and the 1920s closed out with Jefferson One, which was a building & loan located right across from the Museum, with Jefferson Apartments also happening in 1926. Food trucks and vendors will be spread throughout the expanse of Jefferson Street and architectural guides will be available to answer questions people may have as they take self-guided walking tours of the many historic architectural homes and jewels populating the area. Jazz on Jefferson is about socializing, so if people have questions about a building’s history volunteers will be on hand to answer them. We’ll also have lots of historical markers displayed along with a few surprises.”

Indeed, by the late 1870s, East Saginaw, was Michigan's third largest city and known as the lumber capital of the world.  It was a wealthy, boisterous city.  This prosperity was evident in the elegant homes that lined the street and the prosperous businesses near the intersection of South Jefferson and East Genesee. 

“People are meant to explore and have a good time. None of the concerts are meant to be formal and this offers a brief opportunity to explore the street and discover what it has to offer,” continues Trombley. “Cities are always a work in progress and always changing, but I feel Jefferson is a special place and I’m proud to be part of it.”

“Jazz on Jefferson is meant to be a low-key and relaxing experience,” concludes Trombley. “It’s a really nice way to appreciate the city and wander the streets, which is what’s great about it. You get all these people down here from all over the region and you get all these different cross-sections of people from throughout the community, which is the whole point of it.  It’s not a carnival and it’s not a fair – it’s a chance to wander the unique beauty of this corridor, have some food, and listen to some great music.”