When
the Rochester International Jazz Festival debuted last year with an aesthetic
triumph and a financial loss, there were questions about whether the festival
could be sustained. Looking at this year’s expanded program, the questions have
disappeared.
Top-name performers — Tony
Bennett, George Benson, Spyro Gyra — may lean to the pop side, but few jazz
aficionados would pass up a chance to hear Dave Brubeck. The Club Pass is once
again an outrageous bargain; a ticket to see Claudia Acuna, Kurt Rosenwinkel,
Chris Potter and dozens more in intimate settings, not to mention Eileen Ivers
at the Club Pass finale.
This year’s festival lives up to the
name “international,” with acts like Two Siberians, India’s Mynta, and
Yggdrasil featuring Eivør Pálsdóttir (from the Faroe Islands).
Go to our Special Sections for City Newspaper’s complete guide to the second annual Rochester
International Jazz Festival.
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2003.
