Cover Story
Questions and protests as Lake Ontario’s levels rise
Homeowners and businesses on Lake Ontario are facing the second round of destructive flooding in three years. The lake rose to record springtime peaks in 2017, but the levels this May and June have been even higher.
Interview: Nikki Hill
I once referred to Nikki Hill as being stiletto-sharp and bouffant-cool after she handed me my head the first time I heard her at the Dinosaur BBQ. Like Ali, she floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. Hill will return to Rochester for a July 17 show at Abilene Bar & Lounge.
Colgate’s south lawn will remain undeveloped, revised plan says
Developer Angelo Ingrassia, who hopes to buy and develop the former Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity school campus, has promised not to ever develop the sweeping south lawn on South Goodman Street and Highland Avenue. Ingrassia has agreed to a “preservation easement in perpetuity,” according to a statement today from his spokesperson. Ingrassia has been meeting with…
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 9: Frank reviews Acoustic Alchemy and Joey DeFrancesco
The alchemy began with the opening salvos of Acoustic Alchemy and its powerful performance. The band made wide-sweeping strokes across the canvas. Just when you thought they were going to break free stylistically, they’d pitch an elegant U-turn back to their roots and the thrill at hand. The big crack-up came along when the outfit…
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 9: Jeff reviews Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Kansas Smitty’s House Band
With a blast of Trombone Shorty’s horn, the Rochester International Jazz Festival roared to a satisfying close of Saturday night. Responding to a final day of gorgeous weather over its nine days, the fest drew an estimated 208,000 people, pretty much matching last year’s total. This was only the second time in its 18-year history…
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 8: Frank reviews The Suitcase Junket, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, and Steve Miller Band
Attention dear readers: This is Jeff Spevak. Frank offered to mow my lawn for a month if I’d write his blog entry tonight. Besides, how hard can it be? He learned everything from reading me and Raymond Chandler. Downright sinister So after blasting over the Jazz 90.1 airwaves, I waited two hours to see New…
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 8: Jeff reviews Catherine Russell, “Jubilation! A Celebration of Cannonball Adderley,” and Itamar Borochov Quartet
Minding history The centuries haven’t been kind to humanity. There really isn’t a lot we need to relive about the past. Except the music. Backed by an acoustic trio of guitar, bass and piano, Rochester International Jazz Festival favorite Catherine Russell overlooked no detail in mining the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s Friday night at two…
Gantt proposes state takeover of Rochester city schools
State Assembly member David Gantt has drafted legislation that would allow the state to take over the Rochester City School District. Gantt’s bill adds clarity to what the management of the district would look like after a state takeover. Gantt’s legislation comes after Mayor Lovely Warren proposed a referendum on a state takeover of the…
Jazz Festival 2019, Day 7: Frank reviews Veronica Swift and George Benson
Like lightning Veronica Swift was swift, if you get my drift. She positively slayed the joint with lightning speed and lightning lingual dexterity. In other words: she’s fast. If I could sing or talk that fast I’d certainly win more arguments at home (please, don’t tell my wife). Swift was backed up by the sensational…
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 7: Ron reviews George Coleman Quartet, Gary Versace with Scott Robinson, and Elda Trio
Night of the giants John Nugent, the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival’s artistic director, typically introduces the Kilbourn Hall concerts, but this time he came out with a saxophone. Nugent choked up as he described hearing George Coleman’s solo on “Stella by Starlight” on a Miles Davis album while he was a student at West…
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 7: Jeff reviews Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters and DH’s Random/Control
Playing in a band, it’s tough work, as Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters made clear in their performance at Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage. Between songs, Platt chatted about how The Honeycutters had once played a department store — if you remember those — and introduced their song, “The Low Road,” with the sarcastic…
City starts planning to remove more of the Inner Loop
City officials took the first step this week toward removing the rest of the Inner Loop slicing through the northern edge of downtown Rochester.
Board accepts transit redesign plan
For almost two years, the regional transit agency has been going through a process, dubbed Reimagine RTS, to redesign its public transit system. But the process has now become a plan, which was approved Thursday afternoon by the RGRTA board. Now it’ll be up to agency officials and staff to put the plan into place.…
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Jeff reviews Vilray, Tamar Korn & A Kornucopia, and Thomas Backman
Old-school cynicism What do you make of a romantic ballad that declares, “There’s no true love, there’s only routine?” Yeah, nailed it. Wednesday at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Tin Pan Alley was just one block from Jazz, with Vilray as your shuttle-bus driver. Just Vilray alone onstage at Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage with…
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Frank reviews Funknut, Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, and Kandace Springs
Some ups, some downs, some smiles, some frowns, some heart palpitations. So here goes: Funk-tastic Rochester’s Funknut is funky beyond belief, and at its early set at the Fusion Stage, the band wielded its instruments in a brazen display of a groovy threat. These cats were funkier than a porta-potty at a chili cook-off as…
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Ron reviews Harold Danko, Ian Shaw, Lionel Loueke & Raul Midón
A rich jazz legacy On Wednesday night at Hatch Recital Hall, Harold Danko played one of the finest concerts I’ve heard at the festival this year. It feels funny to call his opening tune, “To Start Again,” a “tune.” It was so packed with musical ideas, it was more like a jazz sonata. He played…
Jazz Fest 2019, Day 5: Frank reviews ‘Nat King Cole at 100’ with Paul Marinaro and Marc Cohn & the Blind Boys of Alabama
Songs fit for a King Everything on Day 5 of the jazz festival was wonderfully copacetic, but I got to wondering: Do these tribute shows or centennial shows like SNJO’s salute to Art Blakey or “Nat King Cole at 100,” performed by Paul Marinaro, go out on tour already put together or…? Wouldn’t it be…
History, nostalgia, andthe Broad Street bridge
In its 177-year history, the Broad Street bridge in downtown Rochester has carried canal boats, light-rail trains, cars, and trucks across the Genesee River. Now, city officials plan to remove its top layer, exposing the canal aqueduct and converting it into a pedestrian walkway. The bridge is a key part of the city’s ROC the…
Tackling Rochester’s affordable housing issue
City Roots Community Land Trust has reached a milestone that’s been long in coming: creating a way for low-income people to buy their own homes. Although the non-profit was formed in 2017, the catalyst for City Roots was a protracted battle that began about five years earlier between Liz McGriff, a homeowner on Cedarwood Terrace…
WORLD FOLK | O’s Pipa and Friends
Rochester has a veritable treasure in the music of Leah Ou, who performs under the moniker O’s Pipa. As the name suggests, Ou plays the pipa, a Chinese folk instrument with similarities to the lute. Ou is a truly dynamic player, delivering beautiful tremolo melodies with classical precision. She also pulls off the daunting task…
PSYCHEDELIC FUNK-FOLK | Swamp Kids
Swamp Kids features a complex kaleidoscope of jazz-rock, psychedelic funk, and folk. Consisting of Big Mean Sound Machine’s Emmett Scott on keys and Angelo Peters on bass, as well as The English Project’s Chris English on drums and singer-songwriter Tenzin Chopak on guitar, Swamp Kids released its debut EP “Skeletons” shortly after its formation in…
SINGER-SONGWRITER | Ryan Sutherland
Rochester musician Ryan Sutherland’s gentleness should not be confused for weakness. His loping guitar style — an acoustic approach with an eclectic electric jolt — fits neatly beneath his beautiful, somewhat melancholic emoting. All by himself, the man digs deep into all manner of subterranean joy, influenced by artists from Tom Waits to Richie Blackmore,…
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL | Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones
It’s all guts, all glory when it comes to 21-year-old frontwoman Hannah Wicklund and her power trio The Steppin Stones. Formed in 2006 when the talented singer-songwriter was just eight years old, Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones have played thousands of shows across the United States and Europe, and are now celebrating the 2018…
AMERICANA| A Girl Named Genny
Delivering a raw mixture of country, folk, rock, and Americana, local sextet A Girl Named Genny recently released its debut full-length studio album, “Coming Home,” in 2018. You can join your partner in a step-dance, or shout and stumble along to A Girl Named Genny’s anthemic choruses, steadfast rock beats, and jovial string arrangements. Shifting…
NERDCORE | MC Chris
Known for his animation and voiceover work with Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, MC Chris also has a knack for hip-hop, electrifying fans across the country with his explicit geek-meets-gangster rap. His latest album is 2018’s “MC Chris Is Good Music.” Observing grown-up topics through a youthful lens, MC Chris uses a child-like shtick in…
DANCE-THEATER | ‘Skywoman’
Regional audiences can learn about the Iroquois creation story and Haudenosaunee values this weekend at the debut of “Skywoman,” a contemporary theatrical performance by Skywoman Iroquois Dance Theater. The production presents the story of the pregnant Sky Woman, who falls to Earth through a hole from the uprooted Tree of Life, landing on the great…
THEATER | ‘A Man and His Prostate’
Renowned actor Ed Asner will star in this week’s “A Man and His Prostate,” a one-man show written by Ed Weinberger. Asner has won eight Emmy awards, and is perhaps best known for his roles as Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” as Santa in “Elf,” and as widower Carl in “Up!” “A…
ART | ‘Black and White Invitational’
The annual photo exhibition “Black & White Invitational” opened at Image City Photography Gallery earlier this month, and features work from seven photographers: Don DeLong, Bill Edwards, Rick Garvia, Jones Hendershot, Susan C. Larkin, Devin Mack, and Tom McGlynn. Also showing at the space is Dick Beery’s exhibit as guest photographer in the Neuberger Gallery,…
SPECIAL EVENT | Market Days at International Plaza
Kicking off this week is the annual Market Days at International Plaza, co-presented by the Puerto Rican Festival, the El Camino Committee, Ibero-American Development Corporation, Project HOPE, and more. Each of the six Market Days (June 30, July 11, July 28, August 8, August 25, and September 12) will feature live music, fresh produce, prepared…
EXHIBIT | ‘The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons’
Find out what’s up with Doc at “The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons” exhibit, which opens this week at the George Eastman Museum. Featuring more than 150 sketches, models, paintings, and animation cels (transparent sheets that were hand-painted), the show provides an extensive behind-the-scenes look into the company’s 80-year history. A special preview event will…
ART | ‘Renewable Futures’
Art students are generally thought of as some of the people most willing to think differently and break through cultural norms. Pair that scene with the rapid-fire cultural shifts of the 1960s, and you’ve got yourself an aesthetic and ideological revolution. Many of today’s notable Rochester-based artists were part of the RIT College of Art…
Urban Action 6/26
This week’s call to action includes the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.) Learning about seeds and soil The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York will host an educational session on seeds and soil as part of its On-Farm Field Day Season on Wednesday, July…
With Dems in charge, NY adopts progressive bills
The 2019 legislative session was among the most productive in several years, with the passage of bills that ranged from strengthening abortion rights to allowing undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. If you’re a liberal Democrat, there’s a lot to like. Conservative Republicans are not as pleased. The 2019 session ended when the Assembly gaveled…
Giant inflatables coming back to Fringe
French street theater company Plasticiens Volants will return to Rochester to perform the first weekend of the 2019 Rochester Fringe, festival organizers announced on Tuesday.
Album review: ‘Road to the Sun’
Amina Figarova ‘Road to the Sun’ AmFi Records taminafigarova.com On “Road to the Sun,” pianist Amina Figarova explores the possibilities of a little big band, at times combined with a string trio. Born in Azerbaijan, Figarova began as a classical pianist. After studying jazz in Holland, she moved to the United States and studied at…
Film review: ‘Toy Story 4’
That this latest installment is the funniest and most idiosyncratic of the series so far shows that it’s entirely possible there’s enough juice left in these stories to take Woody, Buzz, and the gang to infinity and beyond, free to continue giving generations of viewers neuroses about never getting rid of our old toys.
Album review: ‘Six of One’
The David Berkman Sextet ‘Six of One’ Palmetto Records davidberkman.com There’s an apt quote from pianist David Berkman’s wife in the liner notes for his new album “Six of One.” She compares the music to a “scramble intersection,” a six-way pedestrian crossing in her native Japan. Organized chaos is a wonderful metaphor for the bold…
Stingray SushiFusion gets a brick-and-mortar on South Ave
Rochester-based food truck Stingray SushiFusion has offered a blend of Latin and Japanese cuisine since 2013. Just recently its owners Radhames and José Veras joined the ranks of other local food trucks who have expanded their biz to brick-and-mortar joints.
ROC comics featured on Comedy Central series
Rochester’s comedy scene will get a rare spotlight on national TV next week, when Comedy Central airs the latest episode of “Hart of the City,” comedian Kevin Hart’s program showcasing vibrant comedy cities across the United States.
A Correction to Our Jazz Festival Guide: Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band is the headliner on June 28, while Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra will be headlining at Kodak Hall on Wednesday, June 26. Tickets for both concerts are available at the CGI RIJF box office and online at rochesterjazz.com.
Jazz Fest interview: Sullivan Fortner
He was born in the birthplace of jazz, but New Orleans native Sullivan Fortner grew up steeped in gospel music. Now a fast-rising star in the jazz world, the pianist will play June 28 and 29 at the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival.
All the ‘Child’s Play’ movies, ranked
Who’d have thought that a horror series about a wise-cracking killer doll would have been able to sustain itself for three decades? In time for the release of a new reimagining of “Child’s Play” in theaters, CITY takes a look back at how each of the movies in the series stack up.
