Winterfest jazz returns to East End

The sound of a saxophone is punctuated by clinking wine glasses. The tasting room is filled with jazz lovers. Rows of grape vines form a picturesque view. No, it’s not harvest time and summer hasn’t magically reappeared. It’s Long Island Winterfest, arriving just in time to provide jazz lovers with plenty to hear.

The six-weekend jazz festival—known as Jazz on the Vine—launches on Saturday and continues through March 21. New for this year is the Steinway Series, in which musicians make use of Steinway pianos loaned for the festival. As in years past, Jazz on the Vine presents a range of genres performed by local musicians and those with national or international followings.

A special pre-festival concert featuring JaLaLa was held last Saturday at Raphael Vineyards in Peconic. Another pre-festival concert, this one featuring pianist and singer Judy Carmichael, will be held on Friday, February 12, at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. Both shows were set up to highlight the new Steinway Series within Winterfest. Steinway & Company provided seven pianos for use throughout the festival, pairing the instruments with accomplished musicians who create piano-based jazz. Performers include Grammy Award-winning bassist Bakithi Kumalo, jazz legends David Amram and the Teddy Charles Swingtet, the Luba Mason Quintet, the Claude Diallo Trio and others.

Local talent shares equal billing with national acts. Married musical couple Peter Weiss and Jane Hastay of East Hampton will perform on February 28 at Diliberto Winery in Jamesport. Hampton Bays High School graduate Stephanie Carlin will perform with the Stephanie Carlin Quintet on March 7 at Jamesport Vineyard.

The Mark Gatz Duo of Hampton Bays performs on March 20 at Old Field Vineyards. He teams up with fellow East End Arts Council (EEAC) teacher Stan Wright to perform as Breakfast Brothers on February 27 at 4 p.m. at the Greenport Harbor Brewery as part of the Greenport Art Walk.

Groups familiar to area audiences include the Trevor Davison Orchestra, Mambo Loco, Rare Groove, Steve Salerno Duo and others.

All told, there are around 80 concerts at 32 venues. All concerts are free. Nearly all the shows are held in North Fork wineries. The reason for the concentration is simple: Winterfest was created to draw attention (and business) to the North Fork wineries during the offseason.

“We get a lot of competition from the warm weather destinations and the ski destinations,” said Kirsten Matejka of the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Winterfest gives people a great reason to visit the Long Island wineries, listen to jazz music and even decide to have a getaway right here on Long Island.”

Coinciding with the music are special deals at restaurants and hotels, winery tours, limo packages and more. Information on the concerts, performers and special deals can be found at www.liwinterfest.com.

One South Fork winery is participating. Wölffer Estate in Sagaponack will host Ms. Carmichael on Friday and the Jessica Elbert Quartet on Sunday, February 14, at 2 p.m. On March 7, Jon Regen will perform his cabaret jazz-pop music at Wölffer at 1 p.m.

Other exceptions to the North Fork majority can be found in Riverhead and Baiting Hollow. In Riverhead, the Hilton Garden Inn and the Holiday Inn Express will host one concert each on February 20 and 27, respectively. Baiting Hollow Vineyard will have three shows in its tasting room, on February 13 and 28 and March 14.

Ultimately, the magic of Jazz on the Vine is in the pairing of jazz music with Long Island wine in vineyard tasting rooms. Over the last six years, hundreds of people have turned out to enjoy a free concert and be part of the experience, said Steve Bate, president of the Long Island Wine Council.

Informal counts of cars in winery parking lots suggest attendance at Jazz on the Vine has grown by more than 50 percent since 2008, Mr. Bate said. Jazz on the Vine is the product of a collaboration between the EEAC and the Long Island Wine Council that grew into Long Island Winterfest.

Musicians are now vying for spots in the lineup, said Patricia Snyder, executive director of the EEAC. This year’s festival garnered more than 200 applications, with 80 accepted. The ultimate goal is to have Jazz on the Vine recognized as a national jazz festival within the next five years, said Ms. Snyder.

“When you look back at their histories, the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the Newport Jazz Festivals started just like we did—they both were grassroots efforts that grew into national festivals,” she said. “I think Jazz on the Vine has the potential to achieve the same recognition … The caliber is going up. Our geographical reach is growing. There is a strong commitment to Long Island Winterfest and I believe it will continue to grow. I love it.”

Long Island Winterfest runs on weekends from February 13 to March 21. For information, visit www.liwinterfest.com.