Jazz Central, downtown Syracuse’s cozy 75-seat theater, will commence its 2021-2022 season this Friday Oct. 22 with a Chelsea Opera Halloween production of Menotti’s “The Medium,” presented in a fully upgraded facility with NASA-grade air purification, thanks to Unimar and IoT Right, local veteran-owned companies dedicated to providing indoor air quality systems for public and private spaces.
The units were recently installed in time for the first live presentation in the theater. Additionally, the newly renovated education center in the facility was recently enhanced by an air transfer system that continuously removes indoor air and recirculated outdoor air.
“We’re extremely thankful for the grants from SIDA, the city’s industrial development association, and NYSCA, the state arts council, for their support in making these upgrades possible, and the folks at IoT Right were a dream to work with,” said Larry Luttinger, founder of CNY Jazz Central. “The air scrubbers literally remove absolutely all particles from the entire building’s air every 24 hours. These units are normally used in places for people with COPD, asthma, and compromised immune systems. They’re in use by NASA as well. Along with our outdoor air circulation system, MERV 13 furnace filters, and daily antiseptic wipe-downs, I can’t imagine a safer public cultural presentation space anywhere.”
Live shows that have been scheduled throughout the fall include tour stops by saxophonist Ricky Ford, Joe Magnarelli with Akiko Tsuruga, and the Peter Mack Quartet with Chuck Lamb, Jeff Lederer, and Harvey Sorgen. Sally Ramirez will be back with a bilingual holiday show, and Nancy Kelly is resuming her master classes and cabarets. Tickets are available at https://www.cnyjazz.org/tickets/.
“We have plenty of dates to fill to get back to our usual busy schedule as our city’s arts incubator for touring jazz and shows by artists and organizations of all kinds, especially emerging talent,” according to Luttinger. “We’re issuing a call for artists in all performing disciplines and film for the rest of the season. We’re a fully equipped audiovisual space with lavish new artist dressing area and we’ll handle wraparound marketing and ticketing. We can now stream live shows with a new three-camera simulcast system, as well as record and post-produce video for additional virtual ticketed shows. Heck, we’ve even staged surprise marriage proposals, hosted panel discussions, and had catered anniversary parties here on stage. Any organization or artist who wants to build a live audience, release a new product, or build their online portfolio can use our space to re-energize their brand coming out of the pandemic.”
