Dominick Farinacci and Triad/Braxton Cook

Trumpeter and Cleveland Arts Prize recipient Dominick Farinacci is an alumnus of The Juilliard School’s first jazz program. At 17, he opened for Wynton Marsalis and his big band at Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland. Marsalis later invited him to New York City to perform on a live PBS broadcast, Live From Lincoln Center: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong, with Trombone Shorty and Brandon Lee. Farinacci’s newest group, Triad — created with Christian Tamburr and Michael Ward-Bergeman — weaves together the diverse musical realms of jazz, blues, orchestral and world music.

Emmy winner Braxton Cook (2023 Tri-C JazzFest Artist-in-Residence) is one of his generation’s most exciting voices. Not only does he exhibit world-class virtuosity on the alto saxophone, he is also a uniquely talented vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer who blends jazz, soul and alternative R&B into a sound all his own.

Cook studied saxophone under world-class educator Paul Carr. By 18, he had made a name for himself leading his own band at venues throughout the D.C. area. While at The Juilliard School, he met trumpeter Christian Scott and became a long-term member of his band. He also toured and performed with Christian McBride, Jon Batiste, Marquis Hill and others.

He released his debut EP, Sketch, in 2014, and launched his solo career in 2015 with Braxton Cook Meets Butcher Brown. Cook’s first full-length album, 2017’s Somewhere in Between, amassed millions of streams and downloads on Spotify and Apple Music. No Doubt debuted at #2 on iTunes Jazz Charts in 2018, while 2020’s Fire Sign garnered over 1 million streams in just a few weeks.

FADER magazine named Cook a Jazz Marvel and Jazz Prodigy in 2017, and he was one of EBONY magazine’s Top 5 Jazz Artists to Watch in 2018. Outside of the jazz sphere, he has worked alongside Rihanna, Solange Knowles and Phony Ppl and was featured on Tom Misch’s 2018 U.S. tour.

Saturday, June 24 | 2 p.m.
Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square