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Eighty-year-old Frank Malfitano didn’t understand what Stacey Waterman, who works with him, meant when she called him a “unicorn.” But, she saw that his roughly 55 year career in music and immense care for visiting artists made Malfitano one of a kind in the current music industry.

“For somebody that has been doing (music) for as long as he has, he still has this artist-first mentality which does not exist in today’s modern music world,” Waterman, operations director of the Syracuse International Jazz Festival, said. “This guy has reverence for the artist.”

Malfitano has been a pioneer of the Syracuse music scene for decades. In 1982, Malfitano started the SIJF, bringing global stars to Salt City. In 1990, he founded the Syracuse Area Music Awards and became the executive director of the Landmark Theatre, a position he held for six years.

Throughout the years, Malfitano also held executive positions at other arts organizations, from the Detroit International Jazz Festival to The Stanley Theatre in Utica.

Music is ever-present in Malfitano’s life. Growing up, Malfitano played the clarinet for his middle and high school band. And during his childhood and teenage years, he witnessed the “breakout years” of Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Malfitano said growing up in the 1960s shaped him politically, socially and culturally.

As part of the era’s civil rights and progressive, counter-culture movements of the time, Malfitano said he participated in “endless” marches — including the March on Washington in 1963. It was there where he saw how music and politics were “fundamentally intertwined,” he said, with appearances by Bob Dylan and folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary.

“I’m the product of just being born at the right time in history. I was really, really fortunate to not have missed out on any of the most significant eras in American musical history,” Malfitano said.

Aretha Franklin performed at the Syracuse International Jazz Festival twice in 2007 and 2015. Malfitano’s immense care and passion for visiting musicians enable global stars like Franklin to keep returning to Syracuse. Courtesy of Frank Malfitano

Malfitano graduated from Syracuse University in 1972. He said his college years led him to start SIJF and the SAMMYS. Even though he graduated with a degree in social work, Malfitano credits SU with playing a pivotal role in how he’s put concerts on over the years.

When Malfitano wasn’t attending music festivals at Woodstock or Newport, he was nestled in the basement of the former Kimmel Hall as a nightly regular at Jabberwocky, SU’s student-run nightclub. There, Malfitano learned that if the musicians are having a good time on stage, the attendees will have more fun.

Malfitano first produced music in his senior year at SU. His friend asked Malfitano to organize a birthday party for him. At the “coolest club in town,” Malfitano assembled a blues band from Alaska and the local jazz-rock band, Jam Factory. Malfitano regards that night as the first show he ever put on.

After graduating from SU, Malfitano worked at the Landmark Theatre where he regularly helped produce sold-out shows. After several years at the theater, Malfitano bumped into a local band that used to perform at Jabberwocky. The band confided in Malfitano and said they longed to play at larger venues other than clubs.

Not long after, Malfitano called a meeting with other Syracuse bands. The request was simple: The bands wanted to perform at a beautiful venue with good advertising and a higher turnout.

So, he decided to bring Syracuse its own music festival, 10 years after producing his friend’s birthday party.

While Frank Malfitano spent decades building connections with musicians and their agents, he also noticed the musical talent in Syracuse. To honor that, Malfitano started the Syracuse Area Music Awards in 1990. Courtesy of Frank Malfitano

On a Sunday afternoon in 1982 at Oliver’s Nightclub, artists like Mr. Gone, Nancy Kelly and The Bobby Hamilton Quintet performed at the first ever year of SIJF.

“I’m attending all these festivals, and a light bulb goes off. I said, ‘There’s no reason we can’t have this in Syracuse. There’s a stage, there’s a sound system, there’s some bands. What’s the big deal, right?’” Malfitano said.

Together, Malfitano and SIJF board president Mark Gummer brought in artists like Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson and Kenny G over the course of the festival’s 40 year history.

To ensure each artist is treated with the “utmost respect,” Malfitano runs a tight ship at SIJF, Waterman said. Malfitano found the key to a successful music festival: ensuring each person involved receives the best experience and the festival is free.

Gummer, who has been in the concert industry for decades, said some business professionals seek out concerts solely for the money. But, Malfitano is doing it out of pure passion for music and respect for musicians, Gummer said.

“When they come to town, he treats the artists like they’re gold in a way they are. And that’s how he gets the reputation of being, well, why would Aretha Franklin come back twice?” Gummer said.

Malfitano’s ability to recruit legendary artists like B.B. King and Natalie Cole to headline at SIJF comes from his decades-long connections, Gummer said.

At a concert in the 1960s, Malfitano met John Sinclair, founder of the Rainbow People’s Party and producer of the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival and became lifelong friends with Sinclair until his death in 2024.

When Malfitano was “stranded” in San Francisco in the 1960s, he hung out at the Fillmore West every night. There, he met Bill Graham, one of the most prominent music promoters of all time. The two struck up a conversation, and Malfitano met with different artists and their agents.

Learning from “masters” allowed Malfitano to gather some of music’s biggest names to Syracuse, he said.

In 2000, Ray Charles performed at the Syracuse International Jazz Festival in downtown Syracuse. Over the years, Frank Malfitano has brought in musicians like B.B. King, Natalie Cole and Kenny G to the festival. Courtesy of Frank Malfitano

“By developing those friendships, relationships and network over 55 years, I’m able to go to those people and get them to play the market for me, even though I don’t have the kind of money that other people can afford to pay them,” Malfitano said.

Malfitano also recognizes local Syracuse artists. In 1990, he started the SAMMYS, alongside David Rezak and Brian Bourke. Burke and Malfitano “cooked up” with the idea of having a regional awards show, Rezak said. Though it was a three year process, the trio started the inaugural SAMMYS — which turned 33 years this March.

“It takes a certain dedication and ambition in order to put it out there. And let me tell you, this guy didn’t get rich doing this. It’s never been about money for Frank,” Rezak said.

Rezak first met Malfitano in the 1970s while participating in an antiwar march at SU. At the time, Rezak was managing a friend’s band on the side and Malfitano was still in school. Rezak said Malfitano was just as funny, quick-witted and opinionated in college as he is today.

Even as the years go on, Malfitano’s passion for music is eternal.

But, age was catching up to Malfitano. Two years ago, Malfitano suffered a sudden heart attack that forced him to rethink his future at SIJF and SAMMYS.

“Mortality came into focus at that point and I realized that I’ve got more years behind me than I do ahead of me. I mean, prior to the heart attack, I felt indestructible, invincible,” Malfitano said.

Throughout his roughly six decade tenure, Malfitano has not only built the foundational elements of SIJF and SAMMYS, but has also become a mentor to people like Waterman. With the future of his organizations in “safe hands,” Malfitano said he is ready to “exhale.” But, he still isn’t “ready to ride off into the sunset completely,” he said.

Since last year, Malfitano now only focuses on the artistic side of SIJF rather than the festival in its entirety. With more time on his hands, Malfitano still has a long list of to-dos: travel with his wife, spend time with his children and make more memories with his grandchildren.

“It’s really about entrusting my team with the responsibility of carrying on. And that’s a huge weight lifted,” Malfitano said. “I do foresee the day when I actually retire, and I think when that day comes, I hope they think I did a good job.”

Published on March 17, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Contact Tara: tabintes@syr.edu