If instruments have personalities, trumpet has to be the most audacious and in your face. Maybe that’s why not many budding female musicians are handed one. But that’s not the way it was in Ingrid Jensen’s family. Her mom played piano and loved traditional jazz, so growing up in the late-1970’s, Jensen was given a […]
Ron Netsky
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Raul Midon
When I reached Raul Midon by phone he had just returned from a tour of Europe. With a vocalist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bassist, percussionist, and trumpet player in tow, it could have been a complicated tour. Luckily, all of those musician are the one-man band that is Raul Midon. Midon plays bass, chords, and […]
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JAZZ | Louis Prima Jr. and The Witnesses
Like his famous father, Louis Prima Jr. is the consummate showman. Judging by his latest album, “Blow,” Prima and his wild group, The Witnesses, should have Fairport up and dancing in the aisles after Chet Catallo & The Cats have warmed them up. Fairport Canal Days has become the jazz festival before the jazz festival […]
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Fred Hersch
Growing up in Cincinnati, Fred Hersch noticed that there was a piano in his house, so, at the age of 4, he sat down and started to pick out tunes. That precocious beginning led Hersch to a career as a sideman with greats like Joe Henderson, Stan Getz, and Art Farmer; as a leader on […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Live In Toronto”
Gap Mangione “Live In Toronto” Josh Music gapmangione.com Pianist Gap Mangione is such a ubiquitous presence in the Rochester jazz world, he can sometimes be taken for granted. That’s why it was an inspired idea, when recording his new album, to get out of town. “Live In Toronto” features a great band, a new, appreciative […]
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JAZZ | William Parker, Daniel Carter, Federico Ughi, and Watson Jennison Quartet
Bassist William Parker and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter (saxophone, flute, trumpet) have been major figures in avant-garde jazz since the early 1970’s. Italian drummer Federico Ughi moved to New York in 2000 and was quickly welcomed into the experimental scene. When they visit the Bop Shop on Sunday, they’ll be joined by another multi-instrumentalist, Toronto’s Watson […]
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Keeper of the flame
You might say Michael Feinstein was born to champion the Great American Song Book. But you would be a bit late. “My interest in the Great American Song Book started in the womb,” says Feinstein, who joins the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for a Gershwin Celebration on May 29 and 30. “By the time I was […]
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FOLK | Steve Katz
He was in two of the greatest bands of the 1960’s and he’s got plenty of stories to tell about it. After forging a reputation with The Blues Project, guitarist Steve Katz was a founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears. He won’t be bringing all those horn players with him to Lovin’ Cup but […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “In The Beginning”
Wes Montgomery “In The Beginning” Resonance Records wesmontgomery.com By the time Wes Montgomery died of a heart attack in 1968, at the young age of 43, he was widely regarded as the best guitarist in jazz. But by then his records were weighed down by covers of pop songs backed by overwrought strings. His best […]
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JAZZ | Spontaneous Duos
It’s a little bit like whispering down the lane but with instruments and excellent players. A group of Rochester musicians will celebrate International Jazz Day with Spontaneous Duos. “Musician one” will play solo for five minutes. Then “musician two” will join in, improvising all the way. After five more minutes, “musician one” will leave and […]
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JAZZ | Bill Dobbins
The great Billy Strayhorn was born 100 years ago and Eastman professor Bill Dobbins is celebrating his centennial year. A superb pianist, Dobbins will play some of Strayhorn’s best known tunes like “Isfahan,” “Passion Flower,” and “Upper Manhattan Medical Group,” but he’ll also play rarely heard works like “Paradise,” “Le Sacre Supreme,” and “Boll Weevil […]
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JAZZ | Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston
British saxophonist Trevor Watts has been at the forefront of free jazz since the mid-1960’s. A founding member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Watts has collaborated with a “Who’s Who” of experimental jazz players including Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, and Evan Parker. His partner in improvisation at the Bop Shop will be the equally intrepid […]
